Newton Knight (Matthew McConaughey) serves as a medic in the Confederate army. He is disillusioned with a law that allows anyone with 20 slaves to avoid the draft. After a local boy is killed, he deserts to bring the body back for his mother to bury. The local farmers are suffering from a 10% tax and Newton starts to fight back. He gets hunted by dogs and rescued by slaves led by Moses Washington. He organizes a rebellion and declares the Free State of Jones with escaped slaves, deserters, and local farmers. He starts living with former slave Rachel (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and they're later joined by Newton's wife Serena (Keri Russell). After the war, he fights for local blacks' civil rights. The movie is also interspersed with a modern court case against Davis Knight, a descendant of Newton, who is considered black tracing his lineage back to Rachel and therefore a criminal for marrying his white wife.
There is no doubt that this is a sincere film. It does try to cover too much story and fails to distill the movie to one compelling idea. There are a few ideas competiting at the same time. There is no real fault with the actors. The directions are fine in the sense that they move the story along in a functional way. This material may be more fitting for a longer mini-series or a shorter TV drama.
There is no doubt that this is a sincere film. It does try to cover too much story and fails to distill the movie to one compelling idea. There are a few ideas competiting at the same time. There is no real fault with the actors. The directions are fine in the sense that they move the story along in a functional way. This material may be more fitting for a longer mini-series or a shorter TV drama.