The Free World | Rotten Tomatoes

The Free World

R

Released Sep 23, 2016

1 hr. 40 min.

Drama

Romance

TRAILER

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List

50%

20 Reviews

Tomatometer

53%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Released from prison for a crime he didn't commit, a man (Boyd Holbrook) goes on the run with a woman (Elisabeth Moss) who's suspected of killing her abusive husband.

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Audience Member

I really love this movie and don't understand why it doesn't get better reviews. After watching it the first time, I went back to the beginning and watched it all the way through again - something I have never done before! The acting is understated and sincere, the love story is tender with some moments of subtle intimacy and genuine emotion. It is a slow burner with not much dialogue, something I personally enjoy. The soundtrack is perfect. Without wanting to give too much away, the plot slightly falls apart towards the end but you can pretty much work out what is supposed to have happened and it's incidental if you just focus on the emotional plot and how a relationship develops and strengthens. My only complaint is it's quite hard to understand the dialogue at times when the main character quietly mumbles.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The Free World starts with a fairly original idea of an innocent ex-con and a battered woman finding solace in each other. But in an attempt to escape, the plot derails and it comes to a jail-cell ending.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Already being a huge fan of Moss & Octavia this film definitely kept me on the edge of my seat.. This movie has a little bit of everything including romance, drama, and violence. There's a lot of twists & turns. Definitely bought this after renting it. It is a MUST see film

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/13/21

Full Review

chris n

Well made but it panders to too many modern American social issues that never get any traction or closure. So who cares?

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Yet another white guy who converts to the Religion of Peace-Islam...forget all that messy violence that Islamists cause and support

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

Frances H

Powerfully poignant indie about two innocent people who are as trapped by circumstances as the dogs for whom Mo cares. Is Mo really in the Free World? Or is he still trapped, sleeping in his closet, working in the fenced in shelter with the captive dogs, hemmed in by police who hound him constantly? Doris is trapped also in an abusive marriage, beaten like the dog her husband drops off at the shelter to be killed. The two find each other as they try to escape, but the free world is kind to neither. All around them are those who only want to incarcerate them again. Can they ever really exist in The Free World, or is freedom only an illusion from which neither can escape? Beautifully acted and directed, with a moving story to tell.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/08/17

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Jason Lew

Director

Boyd Holbrook

Mo Lundy

Elisabeth Moss

Doris Lamb

Sung Kang

Detective Shin

Waleed Zuaiter

Khalil

James Moses Black

Officer Smith

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The Free World: Trailer 1

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Matthew Lickona

San Diego Reader

While the religious stuff is clearly set forth, it's easy to overlook, given the abundant humanity radiated by the leads, the hothouse atmosphere of the murder investigation that threatens them, and the explosion of violence that forces the issue.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 27, 2016

Full Review

Michael Rechtshaffen

Los Angeles Times

Despite the drama's questionable, abrupt shift into B-thriller territory, its leads remain affectingly rooted.

Sep 29, 2016

Full Review

Nick Allen

RogerEbert.com

Dog metaphors prove to be only one of Jason Lew's problems, as his debut The Free World is riddled with more than a few unfortunate directorial choices.

Rated: 1.5/4

Sep 23, 2016

Full Review

Jason Best

What's On TV

First-time writer-director Jason Lew is heavy handed with his use of symbolism... But the two stars somehow make their overwrought characters work - and earn our sympathy to boot.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 20, 2020

Full Review

Roger Moore

Movie Nation

Leads Boyd Holbrook, Octavia Spencer and Elisabeth Moss are better than the clumsy third act melodramatics this drama throws at us

Rated: 2/4

Oct 2, 2018

Full Review

Travis Hopson

Punch Drunk Critics

What begins as a quiet, character-driven story of one man trying to break free from the shackles of his past flips the switch into gritty, down 'n dirty action thriller...

Rated: 3/5

Sep 23, 2016

Full Review

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Synopsis

Released from prison for a crime he didn't commit, a man (Boyd Holbrook) goes on the run with a woman (Elisabeth Moss) who's suspected of killing her abusive husband.

Director: Jason Lew
Executive Producer: René Besson, Robert A. Halmi, Jim Reeve, Emilie Georges
Screenwriter: Jason Lew
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Untitled Entertainment, Great Point Media
Rating: R (Some Violence and Language)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 23, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 17, 2017

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