Free State of Jones begins as a meditation on the horror of war before sliding into a rousing defense of the fight for freedom before tapering off as a rather mediocre history lesson about the ineffectiveness of reconstruction.
We open in October 1862 on a Civil War battlefield. Rebels march in formation toward a Union line, taking bullets and cannonballs in the face. Dead litter the field, carcasses stepped on by soldiers marching to their doom. Hogs feast on the fallen. The faces of the dead resemble hollowed-out, caved-in pumpkin shells.
Newton Knight (Matthew McConaughey) is a Confederate nurse. When we meet him, he’s hauling a wounded soldier back to a medical tent. He’s disenchanted with the South’s fight, explaining to others in camp that he’s sick of "poor men fighting rich men’s war." The comment is prompted by revelations that the sons of slave-owners are exempt from service, and the more slaves a man owns the more sons he can keep away from the fire.
"I ain’t fighting for cotton, I’m fighting for honor," says Will (Sean Bridgers), one of Knight’s friends. "That’s good," Knight replies, contempt in his voice. "I’d hate to be fighting for cotton." If you can’t suss out director Gary Ross’ disdain for Lost Cause mythology at this point, you will for sure later on after one of Knight’s relatives dies. "He died with honor," Will says. Knight replies, "No, Will, he just died."
Knight flees the front lines, only to find that war has come to the home front. Confederates are going from house to house, stealing everything they can find in order to clothe and feed the troops. Outraged by the treatment of his kin as the plantation down the road prospers, Knight convinces them to fight back, something locals can manage only because there’s a rifle over every door.
A deserter and fugitive, Knight flees into the swamps and takes refuge with a group of runaway slaves led by Moses (Mahershala Ali). He teaches them to fight back too, getting his hands on a few rifles and shotguns. As the number of deserters climbs, and the Confederate raids grow ever more onerous, Knight finds himself with a little army—one he uses to form the Free State of Jones.
The first 100 minutes or so—which are largely concerned with Knight’s efforts to rally his people against oppression and enlighten their views on race—are Free State of Jones’ most compelling. The last 40 are a bit more tedious, as the film shifts from drama to a history lesson. Free State of Jones is the perfect example of a piece of art that probably would’ve worked better as a HBO miniseries, given that Knight’s struggle goes on for more than a decade and there are interludes driving home the film’s themes that take place 85 years later, during the height of the Civil Rights movement. There’s simply too much ground to cover in any more than a perfunctory manner here.
Free State of Jones is designed to scramble critics’ pieties. It’s roundly anti-Confederate, but stridently pro-gun. Newton Knight sermonizes about the evils of income inequality, but will fight to the death to defend his property rights. He’s a deeply religious man scarred by the horrors of war, but also comfortable with killing when killing’s what’s needed. He believes passionately in the humanity and dignity of all races, but delivers a speech after the death of some white men heavily peppered with bitter utterances of the n-word.
Matthew McConaughey deserves an Oscar nod for his stirring performance as Newton Knight. The role offers everything an awards season guru could want: the sweep of history, an epic timescale, a dash of humor, a pinch of romance, a splash of action, and some rousing speechifying in favor of civil rights. He’s unlikely to get a nomination—as I said, this is not a film Oscar voters are likely going to know what to do with—but it’s worth stating for the record nevertheless.