Free State of Jones (2016)

Review

140min

Genre:       Fact-based, Drama

Director:    Gary Ross

Cast:         Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali…

Writers:     Leonard Hartman and Gary Ross

-Synopsis-

Biographical drama set during the American civil war starring Matthew McConaughey as Newton Knight; a southern army soldier-turned-deserter who formed a small army and free society of fellow confederate deserters and runaway slaves, resisting the whims of a doomed army and powerful men while creating a legacy which lasted well beyond emancipation into a segregated 20th century south.

As you might expect from any society with a history of brutality and oppression, Americans have found it difficult to confront their nation’s legacy over the last 150 years or so, despite sporadic history lessons and its representation in art-form, so it’s not surprising that there’s only been a handful of films over the last 100 years to unflinchingly explore the subject.

But thanks to a recent cultural shift which has resulted in brutally candid films like 2013’s acclaimed ’12 Years a Slave’ and the upcoming ‘The Birth of a Nation’, and even Tarantino’s own unique fantasist take ‘Django Unchained’; writer/director Gary Ross throws his hat into the ring with a dramatisation of an extraordinary true story, of a man whose legacy can be felt in a nation still seemingly divided along racial lines.

Matthew McConaughey delivers a towering performance as Knight alongside promising British actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw as freed slave and Newton’s second wife “Rachel”, an illegitimate interracial union at the time. They both lead an ensemble cast of little-known but solid actors, with Mahershala Ali particularly shining as runaway slave “Moses”.

The film is visually brought to life by top-notch production design and beautifully captured Southern landscapes from cinematographer Benoît Delhomme (The Theory of Everything, Lawless), who has previous experience with the area. All of this made possible by an unusually high budget for an independently co-produced picture.

‘Free State of Jones’ packs a lot into a near two-and-a-half hour runtime; not only is this a “Hollywood” history lesson about a complicated period of American politics and conflict, but it’s also a politically charged righteous indignation piece and a tense character drama, all rolled up into a narrative designed to echo more recent American history and resonate with today’s social climate.

As a film built upon strong historical foundations, it’s not surprising that Gary Ross and co. have come under attack on the issue of historical accuracy. Knight is portrayed in the film as a sort of American 19th century “Robin Hood”, leading a band of men from an impenetrable forest to subvert the efforts of local authorities. Indeed many have questioned his motivations and the characterisation of the man, but equally historians would argue that the source for those counter-histories are opponents who resented Knight for being a Southern Unionist and fighting for the rights of African-Americans, when it was rare and dangerous to do so.

There’s also plenty of debate as to whether Knight’s company actually ever declared  an independent “Free State of Jones” in Mississippi and seceded from the Confederacy, as they went from an insurgency militia protecting local folk from the confederate army’s confiscations for the war effort, to a independent society.

But again with a controversial figure and disputed history we can only leave it up to you to research and decide for yourselves, and director Gary Ross has admirably created a website for fact-checking, even though some may dispute the sources used. The bottom line is that this a dramatisation of history which obviously takes artistic liberties with individual characters and their depictions, but which stays close to the skeleton of actual historical events and does well to bring them to life.

However historical accuracy is not what prevents ‘Free State of Jones’ from being an unforgettable and endlessly captivating drama, that distinction goes to the narrative execution. With the task of achieving so much within an allotted time and maintaining a gripping drama, Ross ends up creating an uneven narrative and tone which is broken into three distinct acts. Act 1 an incident-packed resistance outlaw story with action and brutality aplenty, which then abruptly veers into Act 2 and a settling down period of rebuilding and a new struggle, culminating in a plodding 3rd act of ensuring a future legacy.

The choice to randomly include flash-forward scenes 80 years into the future within a rather sloppy narrative involving Knight’s descendants is ill-conceived, out of place and breaks up the film’s momentum, instead of trusting the audience to connect the dots of Knight’s legacy with the 20th century. And the film doesn’t really cover Knight’s post-war political activities with the Republican Reconstruction government and his rather incestuous family dynamic.

There’ve been many critics of the film’s political motivations and it’s characterisation of Knight himself, it’s almost as if they’ve never seen a Hollywood drama based on real events. However given the subject matter here and how it relates to the country today, this seems to get people’s goat, but there’s more evidence to support the ‘Free State of Jones’ version of this story than any opposing one.

The Bottom Line…

Thanks to an extraordinary story brought to life by a strong central performance from Matthew McConaughey, ‘Free State of Jones’ is a fascinating if contentious American history lesson in extreme dramatic form; despite several narrative shortcomings and uncomfortable social truths, it’s a commendable effort which manages to just about captivate throughout, a stark illustration of the core American ethos of self-determination which seems destined to result in social unrest.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

12 Years a Slave (2013)

Oscar-winning drama based on the extraordinarily harrowing story of Solomon Northup; a violinist and free black man in the 19th century American north, who is abducted and thrown into the horrors of Southern slavery while subjected to the whims of ruthless plantation owners.

Directed by Steve McQueen and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong’o and Michael Fassbender among others.

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