Saagar Kote
‘Freelance’ on Prime Video is an action thriller film that follows the life of a down-on-his-luck soldier turned lawyer named Mason Pettits. He gets an opportunity to redeem himself by working as a security detail for a journalist named Claire, intending to interview Juan Venegas, the dangerous dictator of a South American country called Paldonia. However, the protagonist finds out that he is on a risky mission with many hidden motivations. The film delves into themes of conflict, redemption, and political deception. As the narrative comes to a conclusion, Mason, Claire, and Venegas find themselves in a tough situation, having to battle it out against all odds. With Paldonia’s fate in the balance, the three of them realize they must work together to save the country and their own futures. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Freelance Plot Synopsis
The film begins with Mason Pettits recalling how a failed mission to assassinate a dictator named Juan Venegas in the past left him injured, causing him to move away from the military and pursue a career as a lawyer. A few years after the incident, the amateur lawyer lives a mundane life with his wife, Jenny, and daughter Casey. Due to his inability to achieve financial and mental stability, Jenny reveals her intentions to separate from him, despite the father enjoying a kind relationship with his daughter. As a last-ditch effort to redeem himself, the former soldier accepts a job offered to him by his friend Seb, running a private security firm. The job demands that he accompany a journalist as her security detail to the South American country of Paldonia, where she intends to interview Venegas, the same man he believes is responsible for the death of his military colleagues.
After their rendezvous with Venegas, the convoy transporting the dictator, Mason, and Claire is ambushed by mysterious attackers. Mason manages to eliminate the aggressors and leads Claire and Venegas into the jungle for safety. Venegas realizes that his nephew, Jorge, is colluding with foreign entities to bring down his regime through a coup d’état. As they try to reach an exfiltration point, Mason and Claire are ambushed by a group of armed men led by a foreigner called Colonel Koehorst. The lawyer and the journalist trust Venegas and accompany him to his village, where Claire successfully conducts a detailed interview with the political figure. The leader opines that he wants to save his country from foreign intervention fueled by corporate greed centered around a rare resource called Lanthanide that is indigenous to Paldonia.
Mason rejects Claire’s romantic feelings towards him, as he still loves his wife. In a shocking twist, Seb informs the lawyer that he was originally hired to eliminate Venegas, as a favor to powerful businessmen. Colonel Koehorst and his men attack the village, but Mason and Venegas escape, leaving Claire behind as a captive. While they continue their journey, the dictator tells the other man that he wasn’t responsible for the killings of his military colleagues. Instead, it was all part of a grander global conspiracy. Mason makes a deal with Koehorst to trade Venegas for Claire, but due to popular support, the dictator manages to escape as Claire is freed. The political leader then takes the lawyer and the journalist into the Presidential building through a secret tunnel to confront Jorge and save his country.
Freelance Ending: Do Mason and Jenny Get Divorced? Why?
Mason struggles to maintain a good relationship with his family, despite his best efforts. He shares a great bond with his daughter, Casey, but his wife, Jenny, makes it clear that she wants him to move out of the house and that she wants to separate from him. Due to his financial and emotional instability, the former soldier finds it difficult to provide for his family. In Paldonia, Mason rejects Claire’s advances, showing that he is still in love with his wife. When he is stuck in a potentially life-or-death scenario, he has an emotional conversation with Jenny and Casey and tells them that he still loves them.
Casey tells him that she still loves him and prays for him to return home safely. This offers a hint that Jenny doesn’t actually mean to divorce her husband, but is worried about the future of herself and her daughter. At the end, after managing to help Venegas, Mason is captured standing proudly at the press conference, having successfully completed his objective against all odds. Jenny and Casey spot him on their TV screen and realize how heroic he is. When Mason returns home after his risky mission, his wife and daughter welcome him with warm hugs. At this moment, it is made clear that Mason and Jenny will not get divorced and will continue to live together. The lawyer tells his wife that he is back safely and that the man she wanted to divorce is long gone.
Mason is able to transform his life by engaging in acts of risk and courage. Due to his newfound zeal for life, his wife wholeheartedly accepts him back into her life after realizing that divorcing him wouldn’t be a great decision. Mason’s transformation from a dull and pessimistic man into a brave man enables him to save his marriage and his life. It can be presumed that Jenny probably reconsidered her decision to divorce him after realizing that he risks his life to provide for them and genuinely loves them. Her disagreements with her husband are overpowered by her emotional connection to him. It can be presumed that the two, along with their daughter, will continue to live a happy life together.
Why Does Venegas Help Mason? How?
Venegas is initially portrayed as a selfish and cruel dictator with a penchant for violence. However, through the storyline, it is revealed that he isn’t as violent or dangerous as people from other countries believe. Venegas finds himself in danger throughout the narrative due to the actions of Koehorst and the secret lobbyists behind him. Despite their mutual distrust, the dictator and Mason become unlikely partners in their survival mission. This sets up the base for Venegas’ helping hand at the end of the narrative. Mason plays a key role in saving Venegas’ life multiple times. In the earlier parts of the narrative, he saves the political leader from an ambush, and later, the leader saves the lawyer by shooting an assassin.
Due to their intertwining paths, Venegas and Mason begin to trust each other more, building a great foundation for friendship. In the most pivotal moment, the lawyer helps the dictator to stop the coup and save his country. Due to the lawyer’s immeasurable contribution, the political leader realizes that he has to help him build a better life. It can be presumed that Venegas was overcome by an almost fraternal feeling towards his unlikely friend after the unsuccessful coup, which prompted him to give Mason what he so richly deserved. In the end, when Mason is in the car with Jenny and Casey, he gets a message from Venegas, thanking him for coming to Paldonia, and also that a “petite” (a play on Mason’s last name, Pettits) surprise awaits him.
Realizing that this hints at money, Mason goes to a nearby ATM and finds out that a huge sum of money, almost five million dollars, has been deposited into his account. The political leader manages to help his new friend by giving him the money that he so desperately wanted and deserved. At the beginning of the narrative, Mason struggles to find financial stability. However, in the end, due to his unlikely friend’s help, he becomes a rich man, finally allowing him to happily settle down with his wife and daughter and live a life of happiness.
How Does Claire Help Venegas End the Coup?
Claire attempts to redeem her career in journalism by interviewing Venegas in Paldonia. She manages to end the coup through a series of interconnected events she’s part of. One of Claire’s major contributions is her interview with Venegas, in which she provides him a platform and an opportunity to reveal his true self to the world and also convey his genuine intentions, serving his people and saving them from foreign intervention and wars. At the end of the narrative, when Colonel Koehorst and his men storm the presidential palace of Paldonia, Claire works with Venegas and Mason to cover the happenings by recording them on her smartphone. She bravely walks with Venegas throughout the attempted coup, covering the truth without any hesitation.
Claire records the violence and the resistance as it unfolds, making it a truly honest coverage of the political chaos in the country. She also saves Mason’s life as he bravely fights the thugs of Koehorst. In the final moments of the coup, she tapes Mason firing at the ambush party, making it a moment of special relevance. Due to the footage recorded by the journalist, the world learns the truth about Paldonia and the way the corporations in foreign countries tried to interfere in the internal workings of a sovereign nation by financing illegitimate groups to take over Paldonia by force.
The evidence gathered by Claire, along with the interview footage, becomes instrumental in proving to the world that Venegas is a legitimate leader and that the violence around him was manufactured by foreign players. Not only does Claire manage to stop the coup, but she also ensures that there aren’t many attempted hostile political overthrows in the future. She achieves this by proving to the world that Paldonia is not a violent country. Instead, it is a self-respecting sovereign nation that wants to engage in ethical trade of Lanthanide and other precious resources that belong to its people.
