Free State of Jones (2016)

Reno December 4, 2016

★ 8/10

**A country that existed for a brief time in the history of American.** Once again, it proves that the critics are so dumb. In this people to people and people to filmmakers contact era, no one listens to them. Let them do their own sideshow. This was partially based on the real events that takes place in the following years of 1862. When America was fighting a civil war, a man named Newton Knight returned home from the battlefield where he started to help the farmers who were robbed by the armymen. Its like they are fighting their own war, to protect the land and the crops. They knew the consequence and so they were prepared for it. This is over a two hour long film and I think they had covered everything nicely. At some stage it looked like the Daniel Craig's 'Defiance'. But it reveals many events like changing time and the atmosphere, how they adapted to it along to move on. In …

r96sk November 25, 2020

★ 9/10

Quality film. 'Free State of Jones' tells the true story of Newton Knight's role in the American Civil War. As you'd hope/expect, it leads to captivating viewing. Matthew McConaughey is superb, while he's supported excellently by Mahershala Ali. It's tough to watch in large portions given the obvious things from the Civil War era, from the war itself but also to slavery. I had never heard of Newton Knight, so it was very interesting for me to see it unfold and learning bits - even with some creative license, I'm sure. It also serves an important message that slavery didn't end with the Emancipation Proclamation. I personally found the film very well paced and extremely nicely shot, McConaughey and Ali are the stars but there are also notable performances from the likes of Gugu Mbatha-Raw. It's a great film, one that's worth a watch. Sadness and heart aplenty.