Freeheld

Parental Rating: PG-13

Contains: Language    Sex    Adult Content    

Jill's Review

Opens October 9, 2015

Runs 103 minutes

This is the story of Laurel Hester (Julianne Moore), a closeted New Jersey Police officer who finally finds love with a much younger women, Stacie (Ellen Page) only to contract terminal cancer soon thereafter. Her dying wish is to leave her pension to the woman she loves, but the county officials vote to deny her request. This is the story of her fight for the right to leave her pension to her domestic partner. But, it is also a fight for equality and dignity.

This is definitely a movie relevant to today. It seems a little formulaic at times, but Julianne Moore and Ellen Page give great and touching performances. No matter where you might stand on the issues, you still care about the characters and feel for how hard they are fighting. Steve Carell shows up as a gay marriage activist and he throws the movie a little off-kilter with his over-the-top performance. He is funny but a little distracting in such an otherwise serious movie. Lots of other bases are covered - a woman in a man-centric workplace, homophobic tough guys and domestic partnerships vs. marriage. This movie is worth seeing for the performances alone. And stay through the credits to see pictures of the real Laurel and Stacie. Go see it.

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