‘Free State Of Jones’ Preview: Matthew McConaughey Goes To War In Five-Minute Clip
It’s funny to think about just how farMatthew McConaugheyhas come in the past few years. As recently as 2010, he was better known for his tabloid coverage than or his acting career, which had largely devolved into dumb romcoms and dumber action flicks. But things started to turn around in 2011, with the triple-punch ofThe Lincoln Lawyer,Bernie, andKiller Joe. These days, he’s got an Oscar on his mantel and has become a staple of serious prestige dramas.
His latest in that genre isFree State of Jones, directorGary Ross' follow-up toThe Hunger Games. McConaughey plays real-life figure Newton Knight, a Southern farmer who rebelled against the Confederacy and tried to establish a mixed-race community in Mississippi. But before he gets there, he’s a reluctant participant in the Civil War, tasked with repairing men broken by battle. STX Entertainment has just released a five-minuteFree State of Jonespreview which reveals a major turning point in Knight’s life, and you can watch it after the jump.
TheFree State of Jonespreview is a scene which comes early in the film, when Knight is still out on the Civil War battlefield. The young soldier he’s trying to save is played byJacob Lofland, who co-starred with McConaughey inMud. Ross doesn’t attempt to downplay the brutality of war. Even healthy men have haunted looks on their faces. Corpses are haphazardly strewn about, enemies lurk in unexpected corners, and the medical center is full of men suffering from grotesque and gory injuries.
Reviews forFree State of Joneshave been mixed.Varietyscathingly describes it as “a tale of racial liberation and heroic bloodshed that is designed, at almost every turn, to lift us up to that special place where we can all feel moved by what good liberals we are,” butThe Charlotte Observercalls McConaughey’s performance “one of his best.” A frequent complaint is that the film feels like “a way-too-long history lesson,” asEWputs it, but the history does look interesting —Smithsonianhas a deep dive on the true story of the Free State of Jones, if that sounds up your alley.
Free State of Jonesis in theaters this weekend.Gugu Mbatha-Raw,Mahershala Ali,Keri Russell,Christopher Berry, andSean Bridgersalso star.
Banding together with other small farmers and local slaves, Knight launched an uprising that led Jones County, Mississippi to secede from the Confederacy, creating a Free State of Jones.
Knight continued his struggle into Reconstruction, distinguishing him as a compelling, if controversial, figure of defiance long beyond the War.
