Free Ride (2013) Reviews

• Fairly Absorbing But I Can't Buy Into the Rationalizations

  larrys32014-03-15

  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.

• Great period feeling

  blueknowser2014-02-08

  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

• Pretty cookie cutter and predictable but it is a true story so that fact alone makes it more interesting.

  cosmo_tiger2014-02-14

  "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-32015-05-17

  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.

• Pointless

  timlin-42014-01-30

  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.