Free State of Jones (2016) Review!!

Synopsis – A disillusioned Confederate army deserter returns to Mississippi and leads a militia of fellow deserters, runaway slaves, and women in an uprising against the corrupt local Confederate government.

My Take – It’s unfortunate that the main reason this Matthew McConaughey starring box office flop came in news is not because of its excellent portrayal of the counter-rebellion in a Mississippi town during the Civil War, but because for some reason the producers of the film, STX Entertainment, decided to release the film in center of summer popcorn films, hence its dismal performance. But like me, if you enjoy films on based on actual events or a real person, that has good writing, an actual story and good acting, you will like it. If you are looking for a war drama that is nonstop action with lots of battles, massive explosions and bloody scenes from start to finish, you will be disappointed. I did a little research on the history it depicts and it was a part of the Civil War that I knew nothing about. The film shows well the post-war conflict with the KKK. Like ‘Lincoln’, this film shows a world of political parties very different to present day. Then, white supremacists were loyal to the Democrats, blacks to the abolitionist Republicans. The film is done in a style that emulates Twelve Years a Slave, and as such it deals with topics of slavery and secession in a way that is poignant but also constructive. Despite running for over two hours, the film wasn’t a drag to sit through, because the film was cramped with action, great acting performances, and a good character development. So you weren’t left out to feel bored at any time throughout this film. Despite running for about 139 minutes, the film wasn’t a drag to sit through, because the film was cramped with action, great acting performances, and a good character development. So you weren’t left out to feel bored at any time throughout this film. The film starts pretty much like any Civil War film with battles, death and bloody bodies, but it progresses past that to the point where some people rebel against the Confederacy for the atrocities they commit against the southern farmers. The story is well told with some actual dates and a fact flashed on the screen from time to time which sort of gives it the feel of a documentary. It helps keep things in perspective without being intrusive.

The story follows Newton Knight (Matthew McConaughey), a white Mississippi farmer, a Southern soldier who has had enough of war, had enough of fighting what he believed was a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight, had enough of Confederate soldiers in his home county of Jones, Mississippi taking almost everything from poor families to supposedly help out with the war effort, and had enough of slavery and all the cruelties that go with one person owning another person. . He was outraged by the Twenty Negro Law that allowed families who owned twenty slaves to exempt one family member from service for every twenty slaves they owned. Knight’s insurrection starts off small but dramatic, slowly building up until he and his company are at war with the Confederate States of America. This film doesn’t just deal with what happened during the American Civil War, it also delves into the “reconstruction” phase after the war, and the barbaric and ironic aftermath for the former slaves. Adding further interest and depth to the film is the separate story within the film regarding one of Newton Knight’s descendants (a white man who is part black) who is on trial for marrying a white woman in Mississippi — at the time of the trial, interracial relationships were illegal; and Knight’s descendant, despite looking white, was considered black. How hypocritical, since white masters often raped their female slaves for hundreds of years while the Southern society turned a blind eye to it. Knight and other deserters formed The Free State of Jones, declaring their loyalty to the Union, and flying the stars and stripes rather than the stars and bars. After the war, Knight worked for Reconstruction and married Rachel, a freed slave woman. His children also married cross-racially. He died in 1922. As might be expected, he is a controversial figure in Mississippi. Fans of the Confederacy denounce him as a traitor. Others celebrate him as one white Southerner who had a conscience and resisted white supremacy. Yes, the film is receiving negative reviews. It’s easy to see why. There is something in this film to anger multiple grievance mongers. First, race hustlers will hate this film. Race hustlers want the official story to be that all whites are supremacists and all blacks are heroic. A film that depicts a white man who worked for black rights is taboo. Race hustlers anathematized “Mississippi Burning” and “The Help” for the same reason. It’s such a shame that the race hustlers’ ideological blindfolds make it impossible for them to appreciate great art. Liberals might hate this film for a couple of other reasons. I don’t know if I’ve seen a film where almost every scene hinges on how guns are used. Almost everyone is armed, and uses those weapons to keep breathing and to settle disputes. Even little girls have guns and use them heroically. Second amendment fans may love this film. It depicts what they dream of: oppressed citizenry taking up arms to defeat their own government. . In addition to clinging to their guns, these rebels cling to their God and their Bibles. This is one of the most religious American films I’ve seen in a while. It’s an historical fact that Newt Knight was a devoutly religious Primitive Baptist – he didn’t drink, for example. The film drives home Knight’s Christianity. He is shown in a long scene using a quill to record a birth in his Bible. In fairness, there are a few things that the film could be rightly critiqued for.

The opening scenes of the film are fairly gory and filled with wartime violence, but fortunately that does not dominate the film. As it progresses, the plot of the film does meander a bit, including a fast forward to a scene from some 85 years after the majority of the film that is interspersed throughout the rest of the film. That technique felt a bit forced at times, but at the end of the film it made more sense why it had been used. Additionally, the film tells its main tale over the course of more than a decade, which makes for a bit of an odd cinematic journey–but, in my view, none of these issues are so problematic that they greatly take away from the film. Rather, what we have here is a film that was desperately trying to be Oscar worthy, and that perhaps pushes the creative envelope a tad bit too far. But again, the film offers more good here than the bad. The story that the film has to tell is both engaging and important–engaging in that it captures your attention and makes you care about the subject matter in a captivating way, and important in that it draws attention to historical facts that you probably were not aware of. I know it certainly highlighted some elements of Reconstruction that were new to me. Gary Ross, the director and writer, has previously penned ‘Big’ (1988) and ‘Dave’ (1993), both of which were comedies that also delivered serious thoughts too. In this serious work, with location-shooting that included Jones County, he has given us a very impressive piece of work. Two good touches that demonstrated attention to detail were; the clearly different bits of wood authentically used for a funeral coffin to give an authentic realism, and the authentically-looking slight graying of McConaughey‘s hair in later scenes. After good performances in ‘Mud’ (2012), and Interstellar (2014), here McConaughey gives a convincing performance. Matthew McConaughey gets a lot of stick for his southern accent, apparently it’s all he can do to some people, but it doesn’t change the fact that he is a fine actor. Every emotion he has to display here he does so with grace and believability. His accent is changed, albeit slightly, to a different southern accent here and i didn’t notice any slips or going back to his native accent. What’s more, with his beard hair and teeth looking straight out of the history books, he IS the man he is portraying. OK so it is not doppelganger, but he does bear a great resemblance to Newton. Gugu Mbatha-Raw gives a convincing performance as does Mahershala Ali. Keri Russell is fine in a small role. She gives her heartbroken character dignity and resilience. On the whole, ‘Free State of Jones’ is a powerful film that tells a masterfully constructed important story with great period feel and realism. I recommend it for all as it does entertain and enlighten.