“Sound of Freedom” Review
Jim Caviezel stars in “Sound of Freedom” as Jim Ballard, a former Homeland Security agent who embarks on a quest to rescue trafficked children.
“Sound of Freedom” was something that I had not even heard of until a week ago when I noticed that it was gaining a pretty big following amongst a certain group of people that I can’t stand: those that ascribe to the QANON movement. When I saw that this film was getting a nationwide release, I figured that I would see it and discover what the fuss is about and, more importantly, how the film itself is as a whole regardless of some of the insane people who feel that this film may justify their beliefs about how Tom Hanks drinks blood or whatever moronic thing showed up on their message board this week.
After seeing “Sound of Freedom,” I can safely say that there’s a lot to admire about this film, especially considering how it only had a budget of less than $15 million dollars. The film certainly captures the terror surrounding the abominable industry of human trafficking and anchors that message with strong acting and powerful direction. However, as “Sound of Freedom” progresses, the suspense and pacing begin to falter resulting in an overall serviceable film.
Based on a true story, Tim Ballard (Jim Caviezel) is a Homeland Security agent who is investigating human trafficking in the United States. When Ballard begins to spot an opportunity to bring about change on a whole other level, he quits his job and goes on an incredibly risky sting operation to capture as many traffickers in one place as humanly possible and to free their victims, many of which are young children.
Caviezel’s performance is incredibly intense and you immediately understand why he does what he does. When you see the emotional wear that his job is inflicting on Ballard, you only desire more to see him take down the scum of humanity. Bill Camp also provides an excellent presence in the film as a collaborator of Ballard’s who uses his connections to Columbia’s criminal world to help save children.
However, the true heroes of “Sound of Freedom” are the young children who have been trafficked and are just trying to survive in a hellish landscape that no one should ever have to go through. Instead of having Ballard rescue a bunch of anonymous children, the film does focus on Rocío and Miguel (Cristal Aparicio and Lucás Ávila), a brother and sister whose abduction starts off the film. By having two characters that we focus on throughout the whole film be victims, it makes this story all the more emotionally powerful.
The laziest excuse people will lob at a bad film is “at least it had a good message.” I hate this excuse because it’s a pathetic attempt to salvage a waste of time and it misses something important. It doesn’t matter how good your message is and how righteous your cause is. If you convey it poorly, you do more harm to what you’re trying to say. Fortunately, “Sound of Freedom” doesn't have this problem. The film is PG-13 and truly earns that rating by pushing it to the limit and showing the horrors of human trafficking without going overboard with its disturbing imagery. “Sound of Freedom” shows just enough of the evil Ballard is fighting for your mind to fill in the gaps.
While there is more than enough to get emotionally invested in the film, it has a tough time keeping that interest the entire time. “Sound of Freedom” begins to falter in the second half and the suspense necessary for a story like this begins to fade. Once the film’s main string operation has concluded, the pacing begins to drag over the final half hour. Of course, you still want Ballard to win but you also want the film to be tightly paced to enhance the story.
There are also aspects of the script that simply don’t work. For starters, there are attempts at levity that feel quite out of place. Granted, the plot is incredibly serious so you can understand this need but it just doesn’t work. The film also completely wastes Academy Award winner Mira Sorvino, who plays Ballard’s wife, by having Ballard’s family barely in the story. While it’s obvious that the use of Ballard’s family is to make his connection to the people he’s trying to save more apparent, you have to show a plot device in order for it to be effective.
Unfortunately, I know that “Sound of Freedom” is becoming incredibly popular with right-wing extremists and members of QANON, a movement of which Caviezel has espoused beliefs. However, this film is perfectly fine on its own and, if it raises awareness or activism from people who actually care about stopping human trafficking instead of those using the cause to further baseless conspiracy theories, then I think it will have served its purpose. So, if you want to see “Sound of Freedom,” don’t let a bunch of brain-dead imbeciles, who think that John F. Kennedy Jr. is coming back to life, stop you.
