“From this day forward we declare the land north of Pascagoula Swamp, south of enterprise and east to the Pearl River to the Alabama border, to be a Free State of Jones. And as such we do hereby proclaim and affirm the following principles. Number one, no man ought to stay poor so another man can get rich. Number two, no man ought to tell another man what you got to live for or what he’s got to die for. Number three, what you put in the ground is yours to tend and harvest and there ain’t no man ought to be able to take that away from you. Number four, every man is a man. If you walk on two legs, you’re a man. It’s as simple as that.”
So proclaims Matthew McConaughey as Newton Knight, a Mississippi farmer who led an unlikely band of poor white farmers and runaway slaves in an historic armed rebellion against the Confederacy during the height of the Civil War.
FREE STATE OF JONES is an antidote to the “Lost Cause” fantasy of the South, perpetuated by pictures like Gone with the Wind, with their “tomorrow is another day at Tara” born to rule by virtue of white magnolia skin mentality. Here instead, a story bringing to life white land owning, non slave trading families who acted aggressively in their own interests.
A stretcher bearer with a conscientious objection to the conflict, Knight was finally done with the slaughter when his young cousin is shot and dies in his arms.
Labelled a deserter, traitor, outlaw and coward, Knight was forced to take up arms to protect lives and livelihoods of his kin and neighbours, corn croppers mostly, whose produce was purloined for the war effort by a Confederacy run by rich plantation owners.
Standing side by side in opposition to a ‘rich man’s war, and poor man’s fight,’ Knight’s followers took up arms against the Confederacy and established an indomitable rebel regiment deep in rural Mississippi’s impenetrable swamps, giving them a tactical advantage despite being vastly outgunned and outnumbered. An instinctive tactician, Knight’s passionate opposition to exploitation and prejudice led to the establishment of the region’s first mixed-race community.
Writer director, Gary Ross has written his own version of the story, one not based on any particular source, and has fashioned entertaining and instructive narrative of another side of the Civil conflict.
The casting of McConaughey as Knight is excellent in a performance that exudes not only nobility and courage but also savage retribution.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw is superb as the stoic Ruth, runaway slave and staunch supporter, common law wife, intelligent, courageous, and determined.
As an entertainment, FREE STATE OF JONES plays like Robin Hood, with the swamp substituting as Sherwood Forest and the Confederates subbing for the tyranny of Prince John.
Two of FREE STATE OF JONES great strengths are cinematographer Benoit Delhomme gorgeous lensing, especially the ethereal quality of the swamp stronghold, and Louise Frogley’s costumes which give the production both a texture of verisimilitude and characterisation.
After ten years in turnaround, the film’s timing could not be better.
Institutionalised racism highlighted by police brutality within a racially divided judicial system and struggles over issues of gun control plague the so-called “United” States, and the Confederate flag continues to be a banner for white supremacy and American apartheid.
Historian Victoria E. Bynum, author of the book, The Free State of Jones, hopes that the film will change how we think about the civil war south and inspire us to read the many fine and detailed books about southern unionism.
FREE STATE OF JONES is a vitally important story about class conflict, racial identity and interracial cooperation. The white protagonists are not slave holders but landowning farmers with independent judgement and a strong sense of justice.
Even at 140 minutes, FREE STATE OF JONES cannot fully realise the nuances, complexities, unexpected and sometimes inexplicable turns of history. So see the movie and hopefully it will pique your curiosity to seek out the book, THE FREE STATE OF JONES by Victoria E. Bynum, published by Duckworth Overlook. It’s the most complete way to keeping up with the Jones’