Free State of Jones (2016)

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.

Director:

Gary Ross

Writers:

Leonard Hartman (story), Gary Ross

Stars:

Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew McConaughey	...	Newton Knight
Gugu Mbatha-Raw	...	Rachel
Mahershala Ali	...	Moses
Keri Russell	...	Serena
Christopher Berry	...	Jasper Collins
Sean Bridgers	...	Will Sumrall
Jacob Lofland	...	Daniel
Thomas Francis Murphy	...	Elias Hood
Bill Tangradi	...	Lt. Barbour
Brian Lee Franklin	...	Davis Knight
Kerry Cahill	...	Mary / Yeoman Farmer
Joe Chrest	...	James Eakins
Jessica Collins	...	Annie
Donald Watkins	...	Wilson
Jill Jane Clements	...	Aunt Sally

Storyline

Set during the Civil War, Free State of Jones tells the story of defiant Southern farmer, Newt Knight, and his extraordinary armed rebellion against the Confederacy. Banding together with other small farmers and local slaves, Knight launched an uprising that led Jones County, Mississippi to secede from the Confederacy, creating a Free State of Jones. Knight continued his struggle into Reconstruction, distinguishing him as a compelling, if controversial, figure of defiance long beyond the War.

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Plot Keywords:

civil war | american civil war | deserter | confederate | slave | 

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Taglines:

Based on the incredible true story.

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Genres:

Action | Biography | Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brutal battle scenes and disturbing graphic images

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 June 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

El valiente

Filming Locations:

Jones County, Mississippi, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$7,572,206 (USA) (24 June 2016)

Gross:

$20,758,378 (USA) (22 July 2016)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bluegrass Films, Larger Than Life Productions, Route One Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Historian Rudy Leverett who wrote "The Legend of the Free State of Jones" tried in his book to diminish the importance of the rebellion and to portray Newton Knight as an outlaw, was the great-grandson of Major Amos McLemore, a Confederate officer who was sent to capture the Knight Company's members. McLemore was assassinated by Newton Knight.

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Goofs

Newt is shown waving his cap. Later we get a close up and do not see any bullet holes in the cap, however, it was never implied, stated, nor shown that the cap was ever actually shot.

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Quotes

Mary: Tax collectors are coming around here taking everything. We'll have nothing for the winter.
Newton Knight: [Knight kneels down and holds up his rifle] Girls, do you know how to shoot one of these?

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Screenings: Independence Day: Resurgence/Free State of Jones (2016)

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Soundtracks

What Must Be Done
Written by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

User Reviews

A Great Historical Drama

I'm surprised to see that this movie is currently averaging 6.5/10 stars--I found it to be worthy of an eight, and I even flirted with ranking it even higher.

The movie tells of a counter-rebellion in a Mississippi town during the Civil War, and is based on a true story. 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.

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 movie. 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 movie. 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 movie 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 movie. 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, there is more good here than bad. The story that the movie 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.

Regarding acting, this was perhaps not McConaughey's best role, but it's also not his worst. The supporting cast turns out a strong performance, and all in all the movie is well made.

That said, I'm going with 8/10 stars on this one. It's not the best Civil War flick ever made, and perhaps pales in comparison with other recent historical dramas like "Twelve Years" and "The Revenant", but it's nevertheless a great movie that deserves a "Very Good" score.