Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Good start, but then it gets ruined

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Like another reviewer, I too am really surprised by the low rating. I am so glad I decided to ignore the rating and give this movie a chance. The acting is suburb by both leads and supporting actors. Both Moss and Holbrook performances are stellar. Their pasts and pain meld and bond them together. I am not going to reveal any of the story, but it is a subtle, sparse, intense and moving indie film. It is not a light movie that will make you feel warm and fuzzy. It's not meant to be. It shows the world realistically with all of its injustice, cruelty and yet also shows compassion. It is a movie that I know will stay with me for a long time. If you are a fan of indie films with suburb acting and a story with depth I highly suggest giving it a watch.

No spoilers. This is a well-acted, well-written, real-world drama with a merciful lack of super hero clichés. The ending isn't what you expect. Which I like. This is more art film than action hero folks. So don't waste your time if you need that fix. It's a rare example of good American indie.

I love to watch films that don't require much location, much vulgarity, a lot of CGI, gun violence and sex scenes to tell a story. With a excellent script and excellent acting, a film can be well done with the just the basics. I loved this movie, two people finding true love under real dire conflict but in the end having to face the harsh reality of their decisions. I will add this, any man who beats on women is a punk, coward lowlife and true scumbag. This movie is straight forward and honest and right to the point and you can't ask any more of film. Kudos to the whole cast. I will admit I was looking for a more brighter ending for the couple, but that's what was made it so good, it didn't have that cliché type of a happy ending. I highly recommend this to film lovers, not movie goers, there is a big difference. You will not be disappointed.

"The Free World" is an American 100-minute movie from 2016, so relatively new still. It received several nominations, for example at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. The writer and director is Jason Lew, who was mostly known for writing the Mia Wasikowska movie "Restless" so far. This one here is his second effort as writer and very first as director. And taking that into account, it is a pretty decent outcome. This is the story of a man who was released from jail and apparently he got convicted for something he didn't do. Anyway, he is free again now, in the free world mentioned in the title, but still struggles, mostly because of police officers who try to make his life a living hell. This refers mostly to Sung Kang's character who keeps following the protagonist throughout the film, even shows up at his workplace. His interrogation scene with the protagonist being the dog in the cage and him being outside was one of my favorites from the entire movie. Nice metaphoric value there. Kang and Octavia Spencer play the most significant supporting characters and you can see them somewhat as the contrary parts of goodness and evil when it comes to how they treat the central character. The latter is played by Boyd Holbrook and I think he does a really good job, especially in the more quiet parts which are really 85% of the film. His character runs into Elisabeth Moss' character and it turns out he needs to help her in hiding something terrible that could easily backfire at him. But the compassion he learned while in jail and also the strong influence of his conversion to Islam only allow one result: He has to help her. of course, physical attraction also plays a role, but how can you not be attracted to Elisabeth Moss, especially in that dress she wears in the second half. She once again manages to be awkwardly stunning as she always is, also on "Mad Men for example.So the cast is actually really good, a Golden Globe winner is on board with Moss and Oscar winner Spencer does what she has to do, even if admittedly it is just her usual shtick and she really feels almost the same regardless of where she is in, at least judging from what I have seen her so far, which is not everything, but still quite a bit. Kang was also a good casting choice, even if his character is as gimmicky and one-dimensional as Spencer's. He makes the character work somehow. I am also glad that his character does not sit int he police car at the end because this would have been really unrealistic to be honest. Instead, the film manages to go for convincing realism on all occasions basically and I never ever had the impression that I was watching actors instead of characters. Of course, there were a few scenes that I did not like as much for example the one at the very end shortly before they get caught and the way he takes all the guilt while she runs away did not really fit too well, especially as she liked/loved him and would not want him to be charged for what she did. Then again, maybe she was already too far away to hear it. The very final scene was uplifting once again and while I have no problem with going for unhappy endings (possibly him dying from the gunshot wounds), I still believe that Lew made a wise decision in ending the film the way he did. I enjoyed the watch and if this film hits theaters near you at some point in the future, you should check it out. Most likely, you will not regret it as Holbrook and Moss are really tremendous and they also had great chemistry I think. It's easy to care for the story and characters and what would happen to them, even if they may have lacked real depth or shades on some occasions. Thumbs up from me.