2015 Directed by Jake Mahaffy
When a single mother brings her young boy to church for healing, this lonely pentecostal minister is forced to confront the seemingly incurable illness of the child... and his own demons as well. The more he prays, the more things seem to spiral out of his control.
I hadn't seen Jake Mahaffy's 'Free in Deed' since my first viewing back in 2016 at the Boston Independent Film Festival. It hit hard then, but it hit even harder on this second viewing. Much like his previous feature, 'Wellness' (one of my favorite films), 'Free in Deed' explores characters whose beliefs have been placed in something beyond themselves. Mahaffy charts how their realities are shaped by these influences and how they come to deal with consequences for their faithfulness. In 'Wellness,' a newly hired salesman working for a non-existent business (a pyramid scheme built around some vaguely defined health care system) has to basically invent his job on the fly while trying to sell an imaginary product. He throws…
I usually don't concentrate so hard on the performances but the cast was amazing, especially David Harewood's performance as the damaged, blessed-by-God healer (a power he believes he has). The story itself, solid. The tight cinematography works well most of the time, but its that slight halo-effect around characters or lights at times that did become too persistent. The muted colors and the score became a bit much at times, although I recognize they are fully trying to keep in step with the larger motifs. But I must admit the second part of the film nearly lost me. Absolutely bored with it. Times where I couldn't hear Harewood's character. But the director, Mahaffy, stays the course, rides the strong ideas…
so like i technically watched this, in that i sat and looked at it for 98 minutes, but really...i just zoned tf out and stared at the screen because i was So Tired
There's a lot of Sutton's MEMPHIS in Jake Mahaffy's Venezia 72 Orizzonti winner FREE IN DEED, hopeless and claustrophobic true story set in a land with no God. Have we just discovered a new talent?
What a powerful film. I wasn't expecting this. Dreamlike and ethereal. Nevertheless, it drew me in and hit me on an emotional level. A woman turns to faith healing for her autistic son.
One man and one woman, making their slow, halting way through a forbidding urban landscape, find their paths crossing in an encounter with angelic and diabolical implications. Abe (David Harewood) is a troubled healer at a storefront church in Memphis. Melva (Edwina Findley) is a single mother trying to take care of two kids, one of whom has autism. Benny's self-stimulation often takes violent forms and his school can't handle him and there is no back-up plan. Even if you don't know where the story is heading, the desaturated colors and the ambient music on the soundtrack will tip you off that the prognosis is poor. Free In Deed is immersive, painstaking, and merciless.
Jake Mahaffy made this for $230K…
I felt depressed,
So naturally a pick a film about a empoverished black woman who struggles with her disabled son, is failed by a disinterested health-care system, and turns to seek help from religious fundamentalists who think the possibility of his healing will validate their needs from an absent God.
Cheery.
I passed on White Christmas why again?
On its own the movie is a hard but fascinating viewing (its based on a true story). The camera doesn’t shy away from dragging the audience through this gritty unjust world, and at nearly two hours it feels overtly raw. Still I caught myself checking my watch. The Middle of the film drags a bit until the very late third act.
There's some terrifically striking sound, cinematography, and direction here (to which most of the 3.5/5 stars is owed), but unfortunately the elements just don't overcome a screenplay that's bland and lacking in texture. Helena Bowman is wonderful, so it's particularly to frustrating to see her character was written with such detachment.
While Free In Deed outwardly presents itself as a look at the functioning of a struggling storefront church, I found its most powerful segments to be those that depict a desperate single mother's exasperation about dealing with her special needs child. Edwina Findley is excellent as the mother and the child performers playing her children are arguably even more convincing. The scenes set in her home are more intense and moving that those set in the church, which are at once galvanizing in the manner of Duvall's The Apostle and cumulatively repetitive. Spiritual crises take a backseat to systemic ones here. Still there's little denying that this is an uncommonly potent, serious and well-shot drama from writer/director Jake Mahaffy.
58/100
[Seen at the 2016 Nashville Film Festival]
I'll admit that this film fits squarely into a few wheelhouses for me. I love Southern films (it was shot in Memphis with a largely Memphis cast/crew). I love Christian films that aren't "Christian films" (churches in Memphis were graciously involved in this movie, which I find both surprising and comforting). And my mother was a special education teacher for two decades, so I can sympathize with that scenario.
This movie is heavy. So, so heavy, like it's trying to swallow you. Sometimes that comes out in the editing, where we see maybe a bit too many scenes/minutes of the worship services that begat the events that take place. But when it's on,…
Based on true events, FREE IN DEED tells the story of a young mother who is struggling to raise her special needs son. Turning toward the church, she is hopeful for help but social pressures force every step forward to take two steps back. Writer director Jake Mahaffey has spent almost 10 years working on this follow up from his debut film WELLNESS. Mahaffey’s incredible direction and eye for crafting intimate and unusual compositions bravely immerse the audience in the world of the characters. What results is simply a tremendous movie, illustrating how this village comes together to try and help a child. With stunning and heartbreaking performances from David Harewood and Edwina Dickerson, FREE IN DEED is an astonishing sophomore feature from Mahaffey, and not to be missed.
