"Jones's Free Country" is derived from a real story. Although resources are limited, this war film is shot very well, just like the starring role of the movie itself. This movie starring Matthew McConaughey and directed by Gary Rose tells the story of a man trying to create his own Utopia in the messy reality at the time. Although the film has a sense of preaching and the 139-minute length is a little bit procrastinated, on the whole, aside from the promotion of justice and morality, the better part of this film is that it handles the ugly history in a very proper way. Fact, but it does not make people feel that it weakens or downplays the seriousness of historical events.
The American Southern hinterland in the 1860s was during the bloody American Civil War. "Jones's Free Country" was launched in this context, telling the defected Confederate soldier Newton Knight (played by McConaughey) s story. There are many factors affecting the American Civil War, but the focus of the war is still the issue of forced enslavement of African Americans. The South wants to retain slavery, while the North wants to abolish it.
The
protagonist of the "Jones' Freedom" trailer fought desperately to protect the slavery rights of the wealthy southern plantation owners, but the owners were trying to help their children escape the military service. Newton, who had seen it through, escaped the army. Begin preparations for the establishment of a multi-ethnic and trans-regional country called the "Free State". After being forced to separate from his wife Selena (Kelly Russell), Newton initially sought refuge from a group of fugitive slaves led by Moses (Mahshala Hashbaz Ali) and lived with them In the swamp.
Rachel (played by Gugu Mabatalao) was also a slave. By chance, she brought supplies and some food to the group. Later, this group of poor laborers and people who had been slaves grew stronger, with a large number of people and a lot of weapons. They finally began to resist the Confederate army that had been plundering their crops and livestock. Their resistance eventually evoked blows and revenge. Newton and his partners worked hard to create a paradise where farmers could live and work in peace and contentment. The film focused on the difficulties and struggles they encountered in the process of building such a country.
The film focuses on character creation.
As mentioned earlier, the resources of "Jones' Freedom" are very limited (Although there are various reports, the actual budget is only about 50 million US dollars, and the highest is not more than 6,000. Five million), so don’t expect a major war masterpiece. Because of this, the film needs to focus on character creation. And from time to time, there will be episodes of Knight's descendants in court in the 1940s, 85 years later, which may be the most daring attempt of the film.
At the beginning, the audience may not be able to understand the role and significance of this trial interspersed in the film, but by the end of the film, you will clearly feel how exquisite and ingenious Rose's grasp of this subject matter is. The story of Knight’s great-grandson does not seem to be closely related to the main theme. The purpose of Rose telling this story is actually to lay a parallel main line-the problem of equality and justice encountered by Newton in the 19th century reached the 20th century. The same exists, and these problems remain unsolved until the 21st century we are now in. Such a treatment can make "Jones's Free Country" appear more real and can resonate with society.
Ross is an outstanding screenwriter who has created works such as "Flying Over the Future" and "Mr. Baseball", and entered the world of directors in 1998 with "Happy Valley". His second film was "The Pentium Era" released in 2003. This film won 7 Oscar nominations. Although the directed "The Hunger Games" is more like paving the way for a sequel, it is definitely a big profit in the world (global box office US$695 million). However, "Jones' Free Country" seems to be Ross's most comfortable and relaxing experience in all his directing experiences since "Happy Valley". There are many small, invisible fragments scattered in this film, which can make people feel very real and direct to people’s hearts. For example: Rachel peeped at the close-up of a white child's mouth when she was learning to read, and about her The suggestion of being sexually abused by the owner (which was later confirmed).
"Jones' Free Country" is not a war movie in the traditional sense
There are cruel and direct war scenes in "Jones' Free Country", especially in the opening 10 minutes. Newton was a field doctor. He first encountered a soldier's face and was blown up. Then he saw a pig eating the intestines of a dead soldier. Later, he lost another person close to him, which made him resent the war and prompted him to embark on a path of rebellion. But "Jones' Free Country" is not a "war movie" in the traditional sense. It does not only talk about life and death and the brotherhood of soldiers-war movies are basically this routine. In fact, the first few heartbreaking plots in this movie are like this: a mother is mourning her son who was killed before he was an adult; there is also a single mother—her husband goes to the battlefield— Desperately begging Newton to help her guard her farm. As the plot of "Jones's Free Country" develops further, the humanistic philosophical thinking contained in it becomes more and more profound.
The action scenes in the movie are also very exciting. Although Russell and Ma Batalau are well-known actors, Ali is also famous (he has played supporting roles in the "House of Cards" and "Hunger Games" movies), but most of the "Jones in Freedom" The supporting roles are played by lesser-known actors. This is probably the most expensive part of the film, because the audience can be immersed in the story content and see it as a historical film. Christopher Berry and Sean Bridges are Newton’s two friends. They are both reliable. The enemy lieutenant Babel played by Brad Carter is also very good, not exaggerated at all.
The main feature of the film is of course McConaughey.
The main highlight of "Jones' Free Country" is of course McConaughey. He has both very emotional performances in the film (Newton grieves for the death of his nephew, and the loss of a close friend later), but also has a scene of depression and pain and internalization of grief. It can be said that his performance is Excellent is charming. Movie stars all need a kind of talent, that is, the ability to express a lot of content without saying a lot of lines. Newton has gone through various ups and downs in "Jones's Freedom", and we are from McConaughey’s eyes You can really see these here. Whether it was the dilemma encountered by Newton, the process of his struggle, or his firm belief in a better future, McConaughey's performance was convincing.
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