FREEHELD

Unfortunately bad movie title for a fortunately great film. FREEHELD is not only beautifully acted, which indicates great directing by Peter Sollett, but well paced and structured, which is not easy to do in a movie based on real people and events which many moviegoers will already be aware of when they sit down to watch this.

If you like "feel good" flicks, and/or kleenex grabbing "tear jerkers" then FREEHELD is for you. But even if you don't dig those kinds of movies, there's enough poignancy and realism in this film's mixture to offset the few scenes that seem pre-cooked or stagey. And though Julianne Moore gives her usual Meryl Streepy movie legend performance that could easily get an Oscar nomination, and the always intense Michael Shannon also gives an award winning performance, the real thrill for me was watching Ellen Page.

Page's performance is so full of subtle brilliance it's almost as if she built the character by erasure like some artists and writers do their master work. And almost every scene Page is in is elevated by her understated but always realistically believable offering. She is definitely one of my new movie acting icons, and this flick, though based on a struggle that has since been won, is a history lesson we all need to see.