Whenever a new movie comes out that addresses the period of
slavery in the United States, viewers must confront that sordid history anew.
In 2013, we saw 12 Years a Slave, and
a month ago, we saw a remake of the miniseries Roots. Now comes Free State
of Jones, another of the many films that are “based on a true story.”
In this new film, like many others, we get a mix of history
and adaptation for dramatic purposes. The story of Newton Knight is certainly
compelling. A native of Mississippi, he deserted the Confederate army with
others from Jones County and led a guerrilla war against the Confederates with
an army of up to 500 people that included runaway slaves.
Director and co-writer Gary Ross, who also made Seabiscuit and Hunger Games, tells the story with an eye on the motivations for
Knight’s actions. He’s fortunate to have an actor as excellent as Matthew
McConaughey to fill that role. His look and speech fit perfectly.
A medical orderly in the Confederate army, Knight leaves to
bury a kinsman, a boy from his home county who was conscripted into the army by
force, then killed on the battlefield. Back in Jones County, he learns that
local Confederate soldiers are taking people’s food as a tax, leaving them
without enough to survive the winter.
When he helps a family stand up to some soldiers, driving
them away with guns, he becomes a fugitive and is hunted as a deserter. He
hides in a nearby swamp with several runaway slaves.
The Newton Knight of the movie is a natural leader who gives
speeches that draw on Scripture and class struggle. One motivation for him and
others to desert the army is the “Twenty Negro Law,” which excuses one white
man from the war for every 20 black slaves he owns. Knight says, “This isn’t
our war.”
Ross keeps us informed of the time frame for different parts
of the story by showing the dates. He also moves forward at different points to
1948 to show Knight’s great-grandson Davis Knight on trial for miscegenation,
illegal according to Mississippi law. This is confusing at first but becomes
pertinent as we learn more of Newton Knight’s story.
While it is a fascinating film, Free State of Jones raises several questions. One is how we view
films like this that portray the evils of racism. Knight comes across early as
a kind of white savior, though black slaves are given important dialogue and
screen time. He also is a bit too good. A film (even at 2 ¼ hours) can’t cover
the complexity of such an individual. But the real Knight had his share of
flaws.
While the Knight of the movie has a son by Rachel, a slave
played beautifully by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, the real Knight had three families with three different women and fathered
dozens of mixed-race children. He was a man of strong principles and quick to
have a knife at the throat of anyone who rubbed him the wrong way, according to
The Smithsonian.
A related question regards our
response to such films. We easily decry the evil of “those people,” whose
racism is so blatant and so violent. But this doesn’t necessarily challenge our
more subtle or hidden racism today. This is not a criticism of the film, which
is telling a story from the past. But it is a caution about how we view it.
Then there’s the depiction of religion
in the film. Knight was a Primitive Baptist who often quoted Scripture. And
references to Scripture and to God occur in the film. But you won’t find
references to Jesus’ teachings about nonviolence. As McConaughey said in an interview
with The Daily Beast, Knight “was not
a ‘turn the other cheek’ New Testament guy.” Redemptive violence is clearly
presented here, though ultimately it didn’t work. Laws changed, and people
changed, though the film only implies that; we don’t see it.
Free State of Jones
is rated R for brutal battle scenes and disturbing graphic images.
