Social media is heavily promoting the movie Sound of Freedom, starring Jim Caviezel as US agent Tim Ballard who sets out to rescue a girl from captivity (given how strict Blogspot are about the nature of this captivity, I'm going to avoid talking about the industry this young girl is involved with).
The subject matter is very important and is handled sensitively. It is raw without being excessively so, and explains the mission well.
Where I think the movie falls down is it feels more like a TV offering. The lighting is often in darkness, indicating a low budget, and most of the dialogue is care of Caviezel himself, always speaking with a low growl, almost a half-whisper which has become commonplace in television. I believe they do this to convey more meaning, or something, but it is lame and detracts from the believability of the story. No-one yells, tells a joke, or speaks at normal volume. I mean, how much of brooding looks can one movie pack in?
We needed to know more about the bad guys, these characters were cardboard cutouts. This is a problem as we are meant to be supporting the good guy. It's hard to develop complete support for his cause if we do not fully appreciate just how evil the bad guys are.
The pace of the movie is fine overall, but it feels like the movie is coming to an end a little too early. This is where some children are rescued from an island. From that point the movie tends to drift, just when it shouldn't. The pace and urgency should lift after this crescendo, but I found myself becoming distracted. Was the movie extended in a later cut?
Sound of Freedom won the July 4th Box Office in the US. This came off the back of strong presales, beating out Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Since then it has scored more top spots and always been in the top three. This is an amazing accomplishment and testament to the filmmakers persistence. Is it worth watching? Yes, it is, but don't expect too much. If it succeeds in waking people up to what is going on in the world, then it will have done its job.
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