Free State of Jones
Free State of Jones tells the story of Newt Knight (Matthew McConaugheu), a Mississippi farmer, who leads an unlikely group of Civil War deserters and runaway slaves in an armed rebellion against the Confederacy during the height of the Civil War, while building the love story of his common law wife and former slave, Rachel (Gugu Mbatha-Raw).
The story which forms around this makeshift company on their quest to not fight for the rich to stay rich and for the freedom of every man, is juxtaposed with flash-forwards to the 1948 trial of The State of Mississippi versus Davis Knight, the defendant in a ground breaking miscegenation trial, and the great-grandson of Newt and Rachel. The flash-forwards leave lots to be desired and left us with many unanswered questions.
The acting overall is phenomenal, and while the subject matter is hard to watch at times, it does a phenomenal job of depicting the struggles of the poor during this time in our nation’s history. While the movie drags during certain times, it was overall a fantastic film and is sure to be a summer blockbuster and awards nominee come awards season.
I give it 7 out of 10 stars.
by Mattie Lou Chandler
