McConaughey plays Newton Knight, like Oskar Schindler an anomaly in a horrific time and place. Knight, a pro-Union Mississippi native, marshaled a guerrilla war against his own side, the Confederates, with troops (as many as 500) including deserters and runaway slaves alike. He fathered five children in his common-law marriage to a former slave and nine more with his wife. Both families shared the same 160-acre farm. Progressive hero or backwoods disgrace?

Matthew McConaughey stars in this epic, untold true story of defiant Southern farmer, Newt Knight and his extraordinary armed rebellion against the Confederacy during the Civil War. Despite overwhelming odds, Knight banded together with other small farmers and local slaves and launched an uprising that led Jones County, Mississippi to secede from the Confederacy, creating a Free State of Jones

I know Hollywood sensationalizes the truth, but I learned so much that I did not know about this time period and looked it up to read more about it. Excellent acting and story line for the time period. Worth purchasing and adding to your collection.

If you Google the word “microcosm”, the definition describes the movie Free State of Jones: “a community, place, or situation regarded as encapsulating in miniature the characteristic qualities or features of something much larger.” Jones County, Mississippi becomes representative of the situation throughout the South during and after the Civil War. Matthew McConaughey ought to be Oscar-nominated for this movie, I think. He plays a Confederate soldier turned deserter named Newton Knight, who is appalled by the unfairness of the exemptions which the wealthiest southerners get from fighting if they have at least 20 slaves. Because he’s willing to defend southerners who are being looted by Confederate soldiers, and also treats black people kindly, he inspires a following of both white and black supporters, and is willing to defend his black supporters in a scene where a white supporter tries to provoke strife (which likely happened in real life). After the war, he continues to be involved in fighting for racial equality. The movie is a very engrossing experience. The dialogue is really realistic and true to the era, including in the role which Christianity played in the community, and the movie uses captions to describe changes of locations and political events very effectively. Newton Knight feels relatable to an audience because he is just reacting, one choice at a time, to the things that are happening around him, and he chooses to defy an unjust government that’s not representing him, and repudiate its racist values, without any of those contrived scenes where he suddenly changes his values. He’s just a normal guy who is unusual for how willing he is to stand up for justice. There are several interesting scenes taking place in the 1940s where his descendant is also forced to take a stand for what he believes during a miscegenation (interracial marriage) trial. This movie ought to be shown in schools, and I hope it will be (the only part that may be too much for sensitive eyes is the opening battle scene), and also should've gottet Oscar attention and be viewed by many people.

I've read nit-pitting debates regarding the historical accuracy, focusing on unnecessary minutiae. Forget all that - this is a great story and interesting part of our history and probably a must see for civil war buffs.