While not a perfect film I thought it was none the less very good. Great performances by all of the cast and really took me back to the 70's style wise. I liked the music as well but mostly I liked Anna Paquin. She plays a mom that is pretty strong and and loves her girls but knows she has to take risks to take care of them. There could have been a bit more character development and perhaps more interaction at school for the girls but keeping it from being too long won out in the end I believe. For a true story I think it deserves a watch and feel confident that it is at least worth a 7 out of 10. Few will be disappointed .... Cheers
14 Reviews
Fairly Absorbing But I Can't Buy Into the Rationalizations
larrys315 March 2014
Warning: Spoilers
I would say the viewer's opinion on this film could well rest on how much they accept the protagonist's rationalizations of her actions here. I'm sorry, but I couldn't buy into it.
Based on a true story, set in 1977, Anna Paquin is certainly convincing as the sexy Christina, forced to flee an abusive relationship with her two daughters from Ohio to Florida. The promising young actress Liana Liberato (Trust) portrays Chrisitna's older daughter MJ, while Ava Acres plays Shell, the youngest.
In Florida, they're taken in by Christina's friend Sandy (Drea de Matteo) (they were former go-go dancers together in Ohio), who eventually introduces Christina to the world of illegal marijuana trafficking off the coast of the state. Sandy's cohorts in the trade seem readily accepting of Christina and soon she's quite involved in the smuggling business.
However, as she gets deeper and deeper into the trafficking her decisions regarding the care of her daughters become poorer and poorer. This will lead to dangerous, dramatic, and possibly tragic consequences down the road.
At the very end of the movie, we learn that the film's writer and director Shana Betz, was actually the younger daughter Shell in the film. There's brief clips as well of the real "Christina" giving her reasons and rationalizations for her actions. Maybe I'm being the "moral police " here, but I just can't buy into involving your children in the drug trade and putting them at risk as well.
All in all, I found the film presented a fairly absorbing presentation and there was a decent natural realism to it all, as well as some fine performances. The fact that I was quite bothered by the premise cut my rating down to average.
Based on a true story, set in 1977, Anna Paquin is certainly convincing as the sexy Christina, forced to flee an abusive relationship with her two daughters from Ohio to Florida. The promising young actress Liana Liberato (Trust) portrays Chrisitna's older daughter MJ, while Ava Acres plays Shell, the youngest.
In Florida, they're taken in by Christina's friend Sandy (Drea de Matteo) (they were former go-go dancers together in Ohio), who eventually introduces Christina to the world of illegal marijuana trafficking off the coast of the state. Sandy's cohorts in the trade seem readily accepting of Christina and soon she's quite involved in the smuggling business.
However, as she gets deeper and deeper into the trafficking her decisions regarding the care of her daughters become poorer and poorer. This will lead to dangerous, dramatic, and possibly tragic consequences down the road.
At the very end of the movie, we learn that the film's writer and director Shana Betz, was actually the younger daughter Shell in the film. There's brief clips as well of the real "Christina" giving her reasons and rationalizations for her actions. Maybe I'm being the "moral police " here, but I just can't buy into involving your children in the drug trade and putting them at risk as well.
All in all, I found the film presented a fairly absorbing presentation and there was a decent natural realism to it all, as well as some fine performances. The fact that I was quite bothered by the premise cut my rating down to average.
Pretty cookie cutter and predictable but it is a true story so that fact alone makes it more interesting.
cosmo_tiger14 February 2014
"We should have never left Ohio." Christina (Paquin) is a single mother looking to start a new and better life for her two daughters MJ (Liberato) and Shell. They move to Florida and meet up with Sandy who introduces Christina to the world of drug trafficking. What starts off as a way to make some quick money on the side for her kids soon spirals out of control and changes the lives of all involved. I will start by saying that this isn't an original idea but the fact that this one is based on a true story makes it seem fresh. The acting is very good in this and there are just enough different story lines going on to keep you interested and make the movie tense. The mom trying to avoid the law, the tension between the mom and the oldest daughter, and the love interest lines keep you watching and wondering what will happen next. We see Christina go from a great mom to an absentee mom fairly quickly and the same arc for MJ really made me like the movie more then I expected too. Overall, there really isn't much else to say about this, pretty cookie cutter and predictable but it is a true story so that fact alone makes it more interesting. I give it a B.
1970s mother slips into an ever increasing storm of drug influenced business
bhudson-317 May 2015
Anna Paquin leads a very competent cast to portray Christina, a mother of two who flees an abusive relationship. She heads south into an ever increasing storm of drug influenced business - as their lives become paradoxically easier and more difficult at the same time.
The lead roles are compelling, with Paquin showing moments of superior skill, proving that her Oscar from 1993 was no fluke.
As it's a true story, the story line is a series of dramatized facts, woven together in a nearly challenging way.
The attention to 1970s set, wardrobe and script (a Walton's reference!) was superb - throwing my head space back into my own 1970s childhood a number of times.
The movie could have been preachy, but wasn't - it instead conveys the practical necessities that sometimes cloud choices. Christina was confronted with truly desperate situation, and we are left to consider the magnitude of that in a world more sexist than today.
I was left with the sense that this movie entirely escapes the worst of Hollywood, rather it has an Indie feel to it that I found enjoyable.
The lead roles are compelling, with Paquin showing moments of superior skill, proving that her Oscar from 1993 was no fluke.
As it's a true story, the story line is a series of dramatized facts, woven together in a nearly challenging way.
The attention to 1970s set, wardrobe and script (a Walton's reference!) was superb - throwing my head space back into my own 1970s childhood a number of times.
The movie could have been preachy, but wasn't - it instead conveys the practical necessities that sometimes cloud choices. Christina was confronted with truly desperate situation, and we are left to consider the magnitude of that in a world more sexist than today.
I was left with the sense that this movie entirely escapes the worst of Hollywood, rather it has an Indie feel to it that I found enjoyable.
A little confusing at times
Gordon-117 May 2014
This film tells the story of a young woman who gets involved with drug trade in order to raise her two daughters.
A good thing about "Free Ride" is that it stays true to the period of 70's, even the font is very 70's. Even though the film is fast paced, the plot is not so well developed. It's not so thrilling, and towards the end it's even confusing. After watching the whole film, and re-watching some critical parts of it, I still don't understand what exactly Christina got for the free ride. I don't understand why the girl going to the concert had to lie to MJ and goes berserk in the car. Maybe the story telling can improve a little, but I think the dirty length of the film is another merit.
A good thing about "Free Ride" is that it stays true to the period of 70's, even the font is very 70's. Even though the film is fast paced, the plot is not so well developed. It's not so thrilling, and towards the end it's even confusing. After watching the whole film, and re-watching some critical parts of it, I still don't understand what exactly Christina got for the free ride. I don't understand why the girl going to the concert had to lie to MJ and goes berserk in the car. Maybe the story telling can improve a little, but I think the dirty length of the film is another merit.
A movie of two halves.
bazookamouth-221-89809730 August 2018
I feel this movie was a movie of two halves Interesting first half when Anna Paquin relocates with her two daughters and through Drea De Matteo she gets involved in criminal activity. Not sure what she was doing mind you, she was earning lots of money but not sure what for and why they were using her other than finding suitable boats. Second half she kinda changes personality and becomes more motherly and it dissolves into cheesy melodrama. Anna Paquin in all fairness looks great in that bikini and tiny denim shorts etc. Not sure if she was the correct casting choice. She has a strange mouth, I like the little gap in her teeth but her mouth shape is weird. Still she is very capable actress. Smoking to much though, not sure why her character had to be a chainsmoker. All in all , not to bad but not great. Nice reveal of the real life Christine at the end.
Not great but not terrible.
jms_mckelvey4 November 2021
Watched this last night. I don't know why sandcrab gave it a zero. Maybe they were offended by the marijuana storylines. They said the movie glorified drug use. It was set in 77. I'm pretty sure that was going on back then. Especially the weed trade down in Florida. It was a basic movie supposedly based on actual events. The ending credits show some of the people involved. Were there plot holes? Sure, but to trash it because it glorified drugs, gtfoh.
MJ better lead character
SnoopyStyle3 April 2015
It's 1977. Christina Willand (Anna Paquin) escapes her abusive partner taking her daughters MJ (Liana Liberato) and Shell (Ava Acres) from Barberton, Ohio to Sandy (Drea de Matteo) in Florida. Christina gets a job cleaning mansions. Sandy gets her involved dealing with Ray (Cam Gigandet) and the Bossman. They are soon transporting large amounts of drugs. The family is given a house to live in while the Bossman stores drugs in the barn.
I think this movie is set up for something better. Instead, the story just lays there without sustained drama. It's a bit random and disjointed. Christina as a character doesn't change enough to be compelling. This may be better off as a movie about MJ and her relationship with her mother. Her character changes much more from telling her little sister to come clean about stealing gum to dealing with her drug transporting mom to falling into troubled herself. She's traveling a more compelling journey. I also don't understand why they wouldn't dramatize the climatic crash with Sandy instead of the new character Rain. This is supposedly director/writer Shana Betz's real life as the character Shell and maybe she didn't fictionalize the story enough. She needs to rewrite this with an eye towards making a compelling story.
I think this movie is set up for something better. Instead, the story just lays there without sustained drama. It's a bit random and disjointed. Christina as a character doesn't change enough to be compelling. This may be better off as a movie about MJ and her relationship with her mother. Her character changes much more from telling her little sister to come clean about stealing gum to dealing with her drug transporting mom to falling into troubled herself. She's traveling a more compelling journey. I also don't understand why they wouldn't dramatize the climatic crash with Sandy instead of the new character Rain. This is supposedly director/writer Shana Betz's real life as the character Shell and maybe she didn't fictionalize the story enough. She needs to rewrite this with an eye towards making a compelling story.
Pointless
timlin-430 January 2014
This must be the most boring drug trafficking movie ever made. True, it is supposed to be following real life, which often lacks drama, but it also follows the tired script of unfortunate single mothers making bad choices, told from the perspective of their amazing daughters, so it's not really educative either. It's unclear if the script is poorly researched and light on facts, or if these drug smugglers just lead empty lives, but the whole thing has a thin TV atmosphere. The most dramatic scene is when the little girl is attacked by ants (I won't spoil it for by revealing her fate). The film itself is made well enough, and Anna Paquin looks good lounging on a boat, but the only thing I cared about was getting to the end of this pretty homage to frivolous crime.
True 1977 Florida
sagefamily17 March 2019
complete zero
sandcrab27722 October 2021
Anna paquin is not all that good to see nor her girl friend ... i don't believe this film represents 70s florida at all, more like the xer drug culture but with pot in lieu of pills, in reality, the rage is pain pills and synthetics ... still exists in 2021... latin drug lords buy houses off grid and raise pot with grow lights until the narcs spot the power bills, then they move to another house, its a cycle ... dumb films like this glorify drugs.
Gas, grass or ass nobody rides for free
d_penn22 November 2023
"Free Ride," the feature film debut of Shana Betz, who wrote the screenplay, has the benefit of being the true story of a part of her childhood and is narrated by her alter-ego, the grown-up Shell. From top to bottom, it feels authentic, and its laid-back, nonjudgmental tone evokes the easygoing world of Jimmy Buffett songs celebrating how changes in latitude bring changes in attitude. Much of the movie seems bathed in the pink-grapefruit haze of a Florida sunset.
Before long, Christina and the girls are moved from a seedy motel to a farmhouse with a barn that shelters a horse for M J but also doubles as a drug warehouse that the girls are forbidden to enter. The domestic drama focuses on Christina's increasingly fraught relationship with the sullen, rebellious M J, who is itching for grown-up adventure and balks at having to take care of Shell while their mother is away on business.
Their conflict comes to an ugly head after Christina allows M J to accompany a drug-addicted acquaintance, Rain (Brit Morgan), to a rock concert. Ms. Morgan's Rain is a frighteningly accurate portrait of a bitter, superannuated groupie on the skids.
"Free Ride" is shrewdly cast. Ms. Paquin balances her character's two sides: the caring mother and the pragmatic working-class survivor who does what is necessary to survive. Cam Gigandet is equally believable as Ray, a shady, laid-back hunk with whom she flirts and who is the closest thing to a love interest. Ms. De Matteo is all sharp edges as the tough Sandy, who ominously disappears. That's the thing about this world: People tend to vanish at the first sign of trouble.
"Free Ride" offers an unsettling vision of a demimonde whose inhabitants live with the reality that there may be no tomorrow.
Before long, Christina and the girls are moved from a seedy motel to a farmhouse with a barn that shelters a horse for M J but also doubles as a drug warehouse that the girls are forbidden to enter. The domestic drama focuses on Christina's increasingly fraught relationship with the sullen, rebellious M J, who is itching for grown-up adventure and balks at having to take care of Shell while their mother is away on business.
Their conflict comes to an ugly head after Christina allows M J to accompany a drug-addicted acquaintance, Rain (Brit Morgan), to a rock concert. Ms. Morgan's Rain is a frighteningly accurate portrait of a bitter, superannuated groupie on the skids.
"Free Ride" is shrewdly cast. Ms. Paquin balances her character's two sides: the caring mother and the pragmatic working-class survivor who does what is necessary to survive. Cam Gigandet is equally believable as Ray, a shady, laid-back hunk with whom she flirts and who is the closest thing to a love interest. Ms. De Matteo is all sharp edges as the tough Sandy, who ominously disappears. That's the thing about this world: People tend to vanish at the first sign of trouble.
"Free Ride" offers an unsettling vision of a demimonde whose inhabitants live with the reality that there may be no tomorrow.
Free Ride Review - Live from FL
cherylcoveduck13 January 2014
I thought it was a great movie, considering those who watch it will not know what scenes were cut out completely. The Sarasota, FL bar scene and all in it, cut out...Aay Mate...The Sarasota school scene, where are the girls? Cut out.. That is a disappointment for all that participated and waited 2 years to see. The movie needed to last 1/2 hr. longer. But all in all, it was a great production True Story. I like the mix you put in it. It was a pleasure and FL Boy enjoyed participation. Cast was wonderful. Wish I could have kept some photos........but rules are rules, right Mr. Moyer....Good job Annie and everyone else.
FL MOM
FL MOM
A RANDOM GENE
nogodnomasters14 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The film opens in 1977 Ohio with Christie (Anna Paquin) playing a punching bag. In the next scene she grabs her two kids and they are off to Florida to live with her girlfriend Sandy (Drea de Matteo). The film initially builds sympathy for Christie as a battered mother. We then find out she meet Sandy as a dancer and now becomes a willing participant as a drug smuggler, attending parties, ignoring her kids, and all around setting a bad example, making us scratch our heads as to why we should feel empathy for such a person.
The film, is based on a true story, written and produced by the youngest daughter. The older moody daughter, MJ (Liana Liberato) looks like an Ann Paquin clone. The acting was top notch. The film message was to show that women will resort to a life of crime for their family when there are no other choices, i.e. government support programs, although we never see Christie try those options.
Parental Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity.
And yes, back then the only way you knew you enjoyed a concert to its limit was to wake up in a hospital with no memory of it or pleading the fifth. Thank you Jerry.
The film, is based on a true story, written and produced by the youngest daughter. The older moody daughter, MJ (Liana Liberato) looks like an Ann Paquin clone. The acting was top notch. The film message was to show that women will resort to a life of crime for their family when there are no other choices, i.e. government support programs, although we never see Christie try those options.
Parental Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity.
And yes, back then the only way you knew you enjoyed a concert to its limit was to wake up in a hospital with no memory of it or pleading the fifth. Thank you Jerry.
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