Freedom: DVD Review
Arriving this week on DVD is the historical drama “Freedom”, which stars Cuba Gooding Jr. and directed by Peter Cousens. The film cuts back and forth between two time periods where we see two men having struggles with faith and conscience.
In 1856, Samuel Woodward (Cuba Gooding Jr.) and his family with the aid of the Underground Railroad, have escaped from the plantation in which they were slaves, but they are being hunted down by Plimpton (William Sadler). Unlike his wife, Samuel has no faith in God, yet he does everything he can to help get his family to Canada.
The story cuts to 1748, where Captain John Newton (Bernhard Forcher) is also having his own struggles with conscience. John was one treated like a slave himself and he has empathy for those on his ship. Mainly for a young boy who will turn out one day to be the great grandfather of Samuel Woodward.
“Freedom” is an OK at best historical film based on a true story. The cast is decent, but it never feels like much more than a made-for-TV movie. Those who are religious will most likely enjoy this film more because it is quite preachy. I can’t give this one a full recommendation because there are far better films out there dealing with similar subject matter but if you like the cast and you like religion heavy historical films, this one isn’t bad, it just isn’t great.
By: Marc Ferman