Rotten
A better film would have muddled the clean white-savior narrative with an actual exploration of what the racial politics of a mixed-race insurgency in the South might have been like.
Vann R. Newkirk, The Atlantic
Free State of Jones
For justice. For pride. For freedom.
2016 · 2h 20m · R
Action, Drama, History, War
Directed by
Gary Ross
Overview
In 1863, Mississippi farmer Newt Knight serves as a medic for the Confederate Army. Opposed to slavery, Knight would rather help the wounded than fight the Union. After his nephew dies in battle, Newt returns home to Jones County to safeguard his family but is soon branded an outlaw deserter. Forced to flee, he finds refuge with a group of runaway slaves hiding out in the swamps. Forging an alliance with the slaves and other farmers, Knight leads a rebellion that would forever change history.
Director and cast
- Gary Ross Director
- Matthew McConaughey as Newton Knight
- Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Rachel
- Mahershala Ali as Moses Washington
- Keri Russell as Serena Knight
- Jacob Lofland as Daniel
- Sean Bridgers as Sumrall
- Brad Carter as Lieutenant Barbour
- Jane McNeill as Miss Ellie
- Gary Grubbs as Prosecuting Attorney
- Christopher Berry as Jasper
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
47%
Tomatometer
Rotten
It certainly looks and sounds right, and probably smells right too -- these gunky Mississippi battles and unwashed soldiers feel authentic. The problem, as with McConaughey's performance, is that you always do feel it.
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out
Fresh
The director and screenwriter Gary Ross illuminates immense historical spans with the true story of one man's revolt during the Civil War.
Richard Brody, New Yorker
Fresh
Ross bit off more than he can chew... the story lolls and wallows in wartime violence and the rebellion, then rushes through the horrors and trauma of Reconstruction.
Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service
Rotten
A Civil War rebellion becomes an enervating movie by Gary Ross.
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
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