Free State of Jones is a frustrating film because it tells an interesting and valuable story with handsome production values, but it is plagued by a certain structural and tonal confusion, among a few other issues. Matthew McConaughey, in his element with an unwashed face and a manly thousand-yard squint, plays historical figure Newton Knight, a Mississippi-born soldier who grows tired of fighting what he perceives as a wealthy man's war and deserts, returning home to Jones County and assembling a Unionist band to rebel against the Confederacy. The film is at its most exciting and focused during the first hour as it chronicles Knight's battlefield experience, desertion, and early emergence as a local champion for poor farmers beset by Confederate raids. But writer and director Gary Ross lets his film lose momentum and shape as it goes along, becoming a cumbersome and unwieldy two-and-a-half-hour sit. His most indefensible decision is to incorporate a 1940s-set courtroom subplot in which descendant Davis Knight is on trial for miscegenation; this may be an interesting subject for a movie, and it is indicative of Newton Knight's legacy and the cultural impact of the Civil War itself, but it is out-of-place to a glaring degree shoehorned into a period war drama, and there is a sense of whiplash every time the film cut away to it. The scenes in the past, too, become confused, with Ross inconsistently incorporating onscreen text and historical photographs to disguise or explain away gaps in the timeline and his storytelling. And the final hour is extremely episodic, not building toward a crescendo or climax so much as gesturing toward various concerns (this character goes here, this character goes there, an election, the rise of the Klan). The content can, of course, be fascinating, but the circuitous and leisurely presentation creates an air of butt-numbing tedium.

C+

Free State of Jones

This is an understated period film that almost plays out like a documentary/reconstruction in some regards. The style very much appealed to me in an educational capacity, and I was interested throughout. While this focused on the American Civil War and The Patriot focused on the War of Independence, Free State of Jones acts like a sequel in terms of style, theme, and character motivation, which also appealed to me. Matthew McConaughey doesn't necessarily do anything remarkable here, but his B-game is so strong that he is just captivating to watch.

His character, Newton Knight, the magnanimous blacksmith/nurse is a war deserter after his son is killed. After getting bitten by a dog he finds aid in a group of black men in the swamp, and they form a small militia to defend his home county against a group of selfish confederate soldiers, and it grows, including white men, women and boys. It grows so much that they declare their own state where every man is free and whatever he grows is his own. It is idealistic, but it is based on a true story, and it is enlightening to know the story.

The film does, however, lose its momentum and spark when it cuts to an "85 years later" courtroom subplot about a descendant of Newton Knight. It is an unwelcome surprise, and it just isn't interesting in the slightest.

B+

This film started out good, but lost it's way half way through. Like David and Algren said, the courtroom subplot felt unnecessary and it just wasn't interesting. Matthew McConaughey was good here, but it's nothing special.

Matthew McConaghey is great in this and the start was great but the middle and final act fail to make an impact. I just wished there was more tension in the movie after the first half rather than just the title cards doing the heavy lifting of the movie.

C+