FREE STATE OF JONES | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

"FREE STATE OF JONES"
(2016) (Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw) (R)

QUICK TAKE:: Drama/Action: A disillusioned medic goes AWOL during the Civil War and then takes on the Confederacy with his growing band of supporters.

PLOT:

It's 1862 and Newton Knight (MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY) is a Mississippi farmer working as a medic at a Confederate Army field hospital tending to the injured and dying. When a boy related to him, Daniel (JACOB LOFLAND), ends up killed in battle, Newton goes AWOL to return the boy's body to his family, stopping along the way to see his wife, Serena (KERI RUSSELL), and young son. Between him being wanted and the Confederates confiscating food and possession from the various farms across Jones County, she leaves with the boy. With him now wanted for desertion and more, the friendly locals help get Newton out of harm's way, and that's mainly to a dense swamp.

Delivered there by the slave George (TROY HOGAN), Newton is tended to by an escaped slave, Moses (MAHERSHALA ALI), who lives there with a small number of other such men. They're brought supplies by George as well as Rachel (GUGU MBATHA-RAW), a slave who works on a local plantation and is the bedroom favorite of its white owner. With things going badly for those fighting for the South, desertions increase, with Newton's friends Jasper (CHRISTOPHER BERRY) and Will (SEAN BRIDGERS) soon joining him, Moses and the rest in a commune sort of existence.

But Newton isn't content with simply living there, especially when there are wrongs to be avenged, including striking back at Lt. Barbour (BILL TANGRADI) and his small band of men who take more from civilians than is allowed by law. Those raids eventually draw the attention of Col. Hood (THOMAS FRANCIS MURPHY) who realizes they'll be ambushed should they head into the swamp, and thus tries to wait him out.

But Newton and his growing forces strike back and continue their rebellion against the Confederacy, winning more battles and taking control of increasing amounts of land. As they continue on that quest, they must contend with growing numbers of Confederate forces sent their way. And as that occurs, the story occasionally switches to one of Newton's descendants in the 1940s, Davis Knight (BRIAN LEE FRANKLIN), having to face possible jail time when it's discovered his partial black bloodline violates the law in terms of his marriage to a white woman.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: If they're into movies about the Civil War or are fans of anyone in the cast, they might have some interest.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For brutal battle scenes and disturbing graphic images.

I have subscribed to ScreenIt for more than a decade. I check in every week to take advantage of their amazing services. Not only does their site provide a glimpse of exactly what content a movie offers, I've found the “Our Take” reviews and ratings for each movie to be right on the money every single time. I've referred dozens of friends to this service because my #1 resource for deciding whether or not to show a movie to my kids, or to see one myself, is ScreenIt.com!

Josh Nisbet
Director, State of CA Public Sector

I signed up to get Screen It weekly reviews a long time ago, when my kids were young and I wanted to know more about movies before we went to a theater or rented. Now one child is in law school, other in undergraduate, and I still read the weekly Screen Its! It helps me know what my husband and I want to see or rent, and what to have waiting at home that we all will enjoy when my "kids" come home. I depend on Screen It reviews. They usually just present the facts and let me decide if the movie is appropriate or of interest for my family and me. Thank you for providing that service, Screen It!

Patti Petree
Winston Salem, NC

I have 4 children who are now in college. I signed up for Screen It when my children were pre-teenagers. Often my children would ask to see a movie with a friend and I wished I could preview the movie prior to giving permission. A friend told me about ScreenIt.com and I found it to be the next best thing to previewing a movie. The amount of violence, sexual content, or language were always concerns for me and my husband as we raised innocent kids with morals. We constantly fought the peer pressure our kids received to see films that in our opinion were questionable. With the evidence we received at Screen It, our kids couldn't even fight us when we felt a film may have been inappropriate for them to watch. Thank you, Screen It. Continue to make this helpful service available to everyone, but especially the young parents.

Christine Doherty
Machesney Park, IL

Screenit.com is an amazing resource for parents, educators, church groups or anyone who wants to make an informed decision whether a movie is suitable for their viewing. The reviews and content descriptions are so detailed I am mystified how the reviewers can put them together.

Scott Heathe
Vancouver, BC

I love screen It! I don't know what I would do without it. It is well worth the membership. Before we take our son to the movies we check it out on screen it first. Thank you SO much for making it. Keep up the good work & keep 'em coming!!!

Patrina Streety
Moreno Valley California

Other new and recent reviews include:

Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.