Review of Free State of Jones (2016) by Greg C — 25 Jun 2016

It is always a jolt to get movies like the Help or in this case The Free State of Jones, so early in the year a amidst mindless summer blockbusters. Hollywood goes back to the well of our discomfort, and that in itself feels contrived.

The raw nerve that is privilege, race, power of the state, anarchy, mixed with miscegeny is explored like a tongue exploring a bad tooth. After seeing the trailer, and after seeing the fighting scenes, I thought that the movie was going for a triumphant moment to exit, but alas it does not take the road most expected.

I liked that. It is more of a whisper than a bang. The cinematography is frequently beautiful. McConaughey (the g is silent like in Knight) does a fine job as lead actor. Everybody does well. The sequences from the 1950s were unexpected for me, but important to tell a story which suggests that events of the past do not necessarily magically disappear in the span of a generation or two.

You might say that this is a very beautiful and well made educational history documentary or min-series. It has a big reach. It got a chunk of it in its grasp, but not solidly.