The timing couldn’t be much better for “Freeheld.” Based on an Oscar-winning short, the film tells the true story of a detective (Julianne Moore) who fights to let her pension be awarded to her life partner (Ellen Page) when she’s diagnosed with terminal cancer. It’s arriving in the year when gay marriage was finally legalized in the U.S, a half year after Moore finally won her Oscar, and a year and a half after Page came out.
Directed by Peter Sollett (“Raising Victor Vargas,” “Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist”), penned by “Philadelphia” writer Ron Nyswaner, and also starring Michael Shannon, Steve Carell, Josh Charles and Luke Grimes, the film’s about to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, and just debuted its first clip.
The clip seems to concern the first meeting between Moore and Page’s characters, as the latter asks the former out on a date, and certainly seems rather more low-key than the… questionable trailer. The film’s clearly got its sights set on the awards season —can Moore make it two Best Actress wins in a row? We’ll have our review from TIFF up soon, and you can find out for yourself when the movie opens on October 2nd. Watch the clip below, along with the official synopsis.
Based on the Oscar®-winning short documentary and adapted by the writer of Philadelphia, Freeheld is the true love story of Laurel Hester [Julianne Moore] and Stacie Andree [Ellen Page] and their fight for justice. A decorated New Jersey police detective, Laurel is diagnosed with cancer and wants to leave her hard earned pension to her domestic partner, Stacie. However the county officials, Freeholders, conspire to prevent Laurel from doing this. Hard-nosed detective Dane Wells [Michael Shannon], and activist Steven Goldstein [Steve Carell], unite in Laurel and Stacie’s defense, rallying police officers and ordinary citizens to support their struggle for equality.
"Freeheld" debuts at TIFF this weekend, opens in select theaters October 2 and then begins an expanded run October 9. Watch the first clip below.