| Liberty Stands Still | |
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The movie cover for Liberty Stands Still. |
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| Directed by | Kari Skogland |
| Produced by | Ogden Gavanski Gary Pearl |
| Written by | Kari Skogland |
| Starring | Wesley Snipes Linda Fiorentino Oliver Platt |
| Music by | Michael Convertino |
| Distributed by | Lions Gate Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | January 18, 2002 |
| Running time | 92 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $11,000,000 (estimated) |
Liberty Stands Still is a 2002 film starring Wesley Snipes and Linda Fiorentino. Directed by Kari Skogland, it is a thriller about a man seeking revenge for his daughter's death.
Contents |
Liberty Wallace (Linda Fiorentino) is the Vice President of Marketing of one of the largest gun manufacturers in the United States, McCloud Industries. She's the daughter of the company's founder, and married to the company's ruthless CEO, Victor Wallace (Oliver Platt). While former war hero Victor is busy trafficking in international armaments, Liberty takes business breaks to conduct an affair with actor Russell Williams (Martin Cummins).
The balance of their marriage of convenience shifts when a sniper named Joe (Wesley Snipes) aims his rifle at Liberty as she walks through a busy Los Angeles park on her way to meet Russell. Joe calls Liberty on her cell phone and orders her to shackle herself to a nearby hot dog vendor's cart. Liberty has no intention of acquiescing to Joe's wishes - until Joe begins shooting.
Quickly convinced, she locks herself to the stand, only to learn that it is loaded with explosives. If she calls for help, hangs up the phone, mutes the phone, or fails to co-operate, the bomb will go off. Joe has also attached a bomb to Russell, who's now in his dressing room at the theater.
Liberty realizes she can't buy her way out of the situation, and she is forced to consider Joe's demand for an anti-gun forum. It is revealed that Joe's daughter was fatally shot at school by a classmate who used a gun manufactured by McCloud Industries. Joe has decided to show Liberty what it's like to be on the other end of the weapon and the horrors of what she has had a blind hand in for years.
Victor has apparently bartered illegal deals without Liberty's knowledge, ones that have resulted in easier access to weapons for street dealers - the ones who sold the weapon that killed Joe's daughter. Joe wants Liberty to use her political connections and this incident to spark a public debate on the Second Amendment. Despite his past, Joe no longer supports the unequivocal right to bear arms.
Joe tells Liberty that she's going to die, but that she can die a hero if she exposes her company's shady business dealings and political connections before she's killed. As Joe monitors and records her every move, Liberty reveals secrets about her own past, and her business dealings.
When Victor, who's also having an affair, finds out that Liberty has been taken hostage, he's torn between following company protocol - protecting himself and allowing Liberty to be killed - and going to help her. Victor and the media show up. At first, it seems that Joe, who is actually a former CIA agent named Alex, is using Liberty as bait to attract media attention, but then Joe guns down news reporter Bill Tollman (Jonathan Scarfe), who happens to be the son of a hawkish US senator.
After Joe shoots Victor dead, a SWAT team figures out what building Joe is in. Before they can get to Joe, he shoots himself in the head, and dies, but he has already forwarded Liberty's recorded confessions, presumably to one or several of the national newspapers.
The film has been panned by gun-rights supporters as being very anti-gun and portraying all firearm owners in a negative light. The film has a 5.7/10 on IMDB and a 2.9/5 on Rotten Tomatoes.
The techno score was produced and composed by Convertino, and orchestrated with sound design by Film Composer and Film Music Producer Robert Muzingo. [1]