‘Freedom’ (2024) Review – Lucas Bravo Gives A Magnetic Performance

The following review of Prime Video’s Freedom (Libre) does not contain significant spoiler information!

The French Prime Video caper romance film Freedom (Libre) radiates charisma from its lead, and the movie is all the better for it. This is the eighth feature film directed by actor-turned-filmmaker Mélanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds). The French star has a natural eye for stylized action sequences, allowing the leads to have their moments to add some spice to the script.

The script is peppered with moments of intensity from both the professional and personal sides of the characters, which blend seamlessly. However, none of this would have been possible without the breakout performance of Lucas Bravo (Emily in Paris). Laurent keeps the camera focused on the leading man, who brings both charm and vulnerability to a role in Freedom that could have been one-note. You simply cannot take your eyes off him.

Freedom is based on the true story of the notorious yet legendary French gangster Bruno Sulak (Lucas Bravo), a famous thief known for his daring heists across France in the 1970s and 80s. However, he gained his notoriety without firing a single bullet, becoming famous for his disarming personality. Bruno would rob anything from anyone, working alongside his “les tourterelle,” Annie (played by newcomer Léa Luce Busato). His longtime partner-in-crime, Drago (Steve Tientcheu), is also by his side, the enforcer of the operation.

Officials find that no prison can hold him either, as a tenacious and unforgiving French police commissioner, George Moréas (Yvan Attal), has found out over the years. Every time Moréas locks Sulak up, he escapes within weeks or months. The “gentleman thief” and his lover/getaway driver build quite a reputation—becoming almost as popular as the stars of their time, like Jean-Paul Belmondo and Catherine Deneuve. Their story is like a “French connection” of reality television before the medium was born, and Sulak cannot get enough.

Laurent teams up again with writer Christophe Deslandes, who also wrote their highly entertaining action film Wingwomen (Voleuses). Freedom follows a similar approach, leaning toward a tone reminiscent of Catch Me If You Can. This isn’t a gritty cops-and-robbers film like Heat, nor does it examine the nature of celebrity like The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. In fact, Laurent and Deslandes have too much respect for their subject to look at him with a critical eye.

That doesn’t make Freedom a bad film—quite the opposite. The movie feels almost like those 19th-century dime-store novels, viewing the famous thief through rose-colored glasses. Bruno is portrayed more as a folk hero, inspired by the media’s tendency to create celebrity as his fame grows. Laurent captures a moment in time when citizens channeled their anti-government sentiment and activism into admiration for figures like Bruno during an era of unrest. However, Laurent also presents the film in a highly entertaining (and even noble) spin.

I will say that Freedom underuses Léa Luce Busato. Whether this is because the director and editor are trying to shield her inexperience is hard to say. However, Busato’s Annie is more like window dressing, almost taking on the role of the admiring public rather than a true partner in crime. If that was intentional (or unintentional), it feels like a misstep on the filmmaker’s part. Although the story is based on true events, some creative license to develop her character would have been welcome.

The primary chemistry comes from the cat-and-mouse chase that evolves into mutual admiration between Bruno and Attal’s George Moréas. Laurent knows what she has in Bravo, giving him the space to command the screen and bring a larger-than-life character to life with enough magnetism and sensitivity to draw the viewer in and hold their attention. Bravo’s performance is star-making in Freedom, enough to carry the film, which is ultimately entertaining and merits a mild recommendation.

You can stream Freedom (2024) exclusively on Prime Video.