FREE STATE OF JONES – A Film Review
Matthew McConaughey and Jacob Lofland
One of the
much-anticipated films of 2016, which disappeared far too quickly, THE FREE STATE
OF JONES is a remarkable, though flawed, film about a largely unknown aspect of
the Civil War. ‘Based on actual events’
(how we dread those words), JONES is the story of Newton Knight (Matthew
McConaughey), a Confederate Army nurse who deserts, skins home to Mississippi,
where he finds the Confederate home guard is using the cover of war taxes to
rob and starve the poor folks who’ve stayed behind to keep the farms running.
Mahershala Ali and McConaughey
Playing cat-and-mouse
with the Reb Army, Newt helps the farmers resist, and when he’s driven into the
swamps to avoid capture, he allies himself with runaway slaves. He fashions an alliance between the poor
whites and blacks that becomes a ragtag army, and soon a force to be reckoned
with, even offering assistance to Union General Sherman. McConaughey’s performance is terrific. He’s powerfully supported with several
standout performances, including Mahershala Ali as the runaway slave Moses –
currently Oscar-nominated for MOONLIGHT and co-starring in HIDDEN FIGURES, Gugu
Mbatha-Raw as Newton’s would-be wife Rachel, and Jacob Lofland as a boy pressed
into military service before he’s ready – watch for Lofland in AMC’s upcoming
THE SON. Keri Russell as Newton’s wife is fine, but one wishes she had more to
do.
Keri Russell & Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Writer-director Gary
Ross who wrote THE HUNGER GAMES (2012), and wrote and directed SEABISCUIT
(2003) and PLEASANTVILLE (1998), writes and directs beautifully within scenes,
but the overall vision is what probably brought the picture down. Simply put, all of Newton’s heroic efforts
are for naught. There’s a stirring
sequence where Newton and his men pounce on a military transport in the forest –
in the best sense it recalls the great Errol Flynn adventure films, with Newton
as a drawling Robin Hood. But if the
Sheriff of Nottingham is ultimately the winner of the tale, the letdown is
great.
The real Newton Knight
The story is repeatedly
interrupted with a flash-forward sequence, either the 1950s or 1960s, where
presumably a descendant of Newton’s is on trial, and the suggestion is, even
almost a century later, things aren’t much better. Here’s a spoiler if you haven’t seen THE GREAT
ESCAPE (1963). Do the POWs accomplish
everything they want to? No; some are
killed, and almost all are recaptured.
But they know they’ve made great problems for the Nazis, and when Steve
McQueen returns to solitary with his baseball, you know he’ll be busting out
again. FREE STATE OF JONES needed that
kind of hope. FREE STATE OF JONES is
available on DVD and BluRay, on Amazon Video, and all manner of platforms.
CIVIL WAR DAYS AT STRATHEARN PARK
Rebs tune up
Friday’s rains had been
heavy, and sporadic rain was falling on Saturday, February 11th,
turning some walkways into muddy creeks.
“Rain?” scoffed a Rebel sergeant?
“You should have been at Gettysburg!”
Good point.
The Strathearn Park and
Museum, in Simi, just a couple of miles from the Reagan Presidential Library,
is a 19th century oasis, which includes ranch and farm buildings,
Ventura County’s first library building, a mansion, and some smaller
homes.
This weekend they were
hosting Civil War Days – Union
encampment to the left, Confederacy to the right, as you entered. Unusually, there was an enlistment booth right
in the middle. Kids chose a side, and
were issued a blue or grey kepi, a wooden rifle, and sent to boot camp. I thought it was a terrific way to get the
kids involved, to immerse them in the history.
Choosing sides
The rain had slowed me
down – I had missed both the 11 a.m. skirmish, and the Gettysburg Address, but
caught up with President Lincoln, and had a nice chat.
My great moment with Mr. Lincoln
I hurried to the barn in time to watch a
square-dance class, where ladies in antebellum gowns and gents in uniforms of
varying rank joined women in yoga pants, cavorting to the caller’s
instructions.
Later, while enjoying a
bowl of chili in the barn, I looked up at a souvenir display and spotted a
pennant from one of the area’s bygone historical attractions,
Corriganville.
I was determined to
catch the 2 p.m. skirmish, so I kept an eye on my timepiece while I checked out
the encampments, historical buildings, and was in the gift shop/bookshop when a
cloudburst trapped several of us for a quarter hour. I ended up buying a stack
of TimeLife Civil War volumes.
Bailey-Denton
Photography had a fascinating display of period photography, as well as their
own, using the old processes; they make tintypes and ambrotypes – photos on
blue glass.
In the Visitor Center,
we were treated to what was billed as a Civil War Era Clothing Demonstration.
It was actually a slow-motion, and very lady-like, striptease, as a Southern
belle removed layer after layer of petticoat, hoopskirt, corset, with a
narrator describing each garment.
Sadly, I don’t know how
far the lady went, because it was suddenly 2 p.m., and I hurried outside for
the skirmish, and like the others gathered there, I waited. Having attended a few Civil War reenactments,
I knew a few things. Principally I knew that the most available free standing
room is by the cannon batteries, and for a very good reason: hearing loss. But there were no cannon to avoid.
A Confederate combo had been playing
throughout the day, and now a Union band marched and played. We waited. The field of battle was mud, and
empty.
Taking advantage of the delay, a
squad of grade-school Union recruits took the field under their commander. A Rebel troop soon did the same. On command, they pointed their wooden rifles
and yelled, “Bang!” They ‘reloaded’ and
did it again. I checked my watch.
“Bang!” Some kids were dropping in the mud.
I gave them credit for letting themselves be hit, instead of yelling,
“Missed me!” like me and my friends always did.
Rebs take the field
As I was checking my
watch for the third time – 2:40 p.m. – it suddenly dawned on me: this, with the little kids and their wooden
rifles, was the 2 p.m. skirmish! I
looked up; the Confederate sergeant was by my side. “What were you expecting: Gettysburg?”
The 2 o'clock skirmish.
AND THAT’S A WRAP!
Barry Bostwick
Walter Huston
Happy Presidents’
Day! I was going to list all of the
movies on TV today that are about Washington and Lincoln, but as far as I can
tell, there aren’t any. There aren’t any
about the other Presidents, either. So, I don’t know where you can get it, but I’m
recommending Barry Bostwick’s portrayal of Washington in the 1983 miniseries
GEORGE WASHINGTON. I checked for other
portrayals on IMDB and sadly, almost all are comedy sketches. And I’m recommending Walter Huston’s
portrayal of Lincoln in D.W. Griffith’s 1930 film ABRAHAM LINCOLN. I’m not saying Huston is better than Raymond
Massey or Henry Fonda or Daniel Day Lewis; but he’s awfully good, and rarely
seen – and it’s in public domain, so you can see it anywhere – I’ve posted a
link to it on Youtube below. You might
also want to check out Bill Oberst Jr.’s Lincoln in ABRAHAM LINCOLN VS.
ZOMBIES. He does a particularly fine
reading of the Gettysburg Address.
Happy trails,
Henry
All Original Contents Copyright February 2017 by
Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved
