Free State of Jones – Film Review by Pat V.

Directed by: Gary Ross

Starring:  Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali, Keri Russell

Set during the American Civil War, Free State of Jones is based on the true story of Mississippi farmer, Newton Knight, who, revolted by the carnage on the battlefield, deserted from the Confederate Army and, with a group of supporters, tried to create an oasis of peaceful existence in the middle of the raging war. Played by Matthew McConaughey, Newton is an ordinary man radicalised by circumstances. Working as an orderly at the camp hospital, he witnesses the butchery of operations and amputations carried out on patients without anaesthetic and also the injustice when the sons of rich farmers (anyone with more than 20 slaves) are released from the army to go back to manage their plantations.

When his young nephew is shot and dies in his arms, Newton decides to bring his body back home to be buried and is branded a deserter by the army. Forced to hide in the swampland with a group of runaway slaves, Newton becomes a kind of Robin Hood hero, protecting tenants against the Confederate agents who confiscate their livestock, stealing from the rich to give to the poor and holding up wagon trains of sequestrated goods. The “Sheriff of Nottingham” character here is Confederate commander, Elias Hood (played with menace by Thomas Francis Murphy) who relentlessly pursues Newton until their final showdown.

The film in inter-cut with scenes set 80 years later when in 1948, Newton’s grandson, Davis Knight, whose grandmother was an ex-slave, was put on trial in Mississippi for breaking the state’s law against interracial marriage by marrying a white woman. Initially condemned to 5 years in prison, the verdict was overturned by the Supreme Court in a ground breaking decision. These scenes, though interesting, along with the voice-over narration explaining the course of the civil war, affect the pace of the film. The emotional engagement that we have with the characters is broken and we have the feeling of assisting at a history lesson.

Nevertheless, this is a really good film. Writer director, Gary Ross (Seabiscuit, The Hunger Games, Pleasantville) creates a believable scenario and gives a totally authentic feel to the period. His battle scenes and their aftermath are shocking and we understand the horror and frustration that Newton feels at the senseless carnage. There is none of the Hollywood gloss in the portrayal of the characters – we can almost smell their sweat and filthy clothes. Matthew McConaughey’s performance is stunning. He captures the different aspects of Newton’s character, heroic and tender, an idealist yet realistic. His complicated personal life is portrayed with subtlety – he abandoned his wife, Serena, and son when he became an outlaw and had a child by an ex-slave, Rachel.

Ross is possibly too ambitious in what he tries to do here. He seems to be working with two separate stories, each of which would make an excellent film – the course of Newton’s crusade during the civil war and the disillusion of the post war period. In trying to cover too much ground, he has fallen between two stools and what could have been an excellent film is weakened by the preachy second half. It is a pity that he paints a somewhat sanitized depiction of Newton Knight. In reality, Knight had five children with Rachel, who became his common-law wife, and nine children with Serena, as well as two with Rachel’s daughter by her plantation owner, and he lived with his families on adjoining properties.  Now THAT would have made a fascinating film but probably not one that the American market is ready for.

While not without flaws, Free State of Jones is a well made and engaging film and well worth seeing if only for yet another riveting performance by Matthew McConaughey.