accessAtlanta

'Freedomland' has big ambitions, little payoff

Based on a novel by Richard Price, "Freedomland" has both more and less story than it knows what to do with.

On one hand, it hopes to animate the racially charged culture clash that a single incident ignites between a middle-class community and the mostly black housing project bordering it. Pitched somewhere between the world-in-a-day allegory of "Do the Right Thing" and the grandiose sweep of "Bonfire of the Vanities," this is the kind of conflict a novel can do justice to; for a movie that needs to satisfy suspense-tale conventions, though, it's a lot to ask.

Sony Pictures 'Freedomland' 2 out of 5 stars Director: Joe Roth Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Julianne Moore, Edith Falco, Ron Eldard, William Forsythe Run time: 113 minutes Release date: Feb. 17, 2006 Rating: R for language and some violent content. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate 'Freedomland'   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

As for that suspense story, if you strip the socioeconomic subplots away there's about enough here for a decent episode of a prime-time cop drama. Try as they might — and boy, do they try, particularly lead actress Julianne Moore — the cast can't justify the additional running time.

Moore plays Brenda, an unbalanced woman whose car has been stolen. While giving her account to Samuel Jackson's Lorenzo Council — a widely admired cop who seemingly knows everyone on his beat except Brenda — she takes a suspiciously long time revealing that her young son was sleeping in the car when it was taken.

This revelation precipitates an awkwardly amped-up scene (Council has a shock-induced asthma attack, but really the director Joe Roth just wants to make sure we're adequately excited) in which Jackson leaps into high gear, urgently escalating the manhunt while pouncing on Brenda, demanding she tell him whatever she's holding back.

She doesn't, though, and the filmmakers are a bit optimistic in expecting that this withholding of information will keep us involved. Price has adapted his own novel for the screen, and it shows: He indulges in some bits of dialogue that might have amplified the book's themes but get in the way of the movie's momentum. Here, key bits of motivation are lost in the shuffle, while supporting cast such as Edie Falco — who, if the film were more ensemble-oriented, could have helped it work — don't get enough play. The movie's big ambitions are especially evident as it draws to a close, introducing last-minute backstory that feels tacked-on; unfortunately, "Freedomland" isn't big enough to do what it might have.