Here's an interesting story from the history of the American Civil War about a disillusioned Confederate soldier named Newton Knight (Matthew McConaughey) who got tired of watching poor men die so that rich plantation owners could keep making profits off their cotton on the backs of slave labour.

Knight deserted from the army and returned to Mississippi where he formed a militia made up of runaway slaves, deserters, women and children and lead them against the Confederates. He also got himself a second wife, a runaway slave named Rachel (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), with whom he had a child.All of which you might think makes for an interesting film offering an alternative take on the traditional view of the Civil War that raises issues about race relations that resonate with the troubled racial politics plaguing the country today.But, under the direction of the able but unimaginative Gary Ross, The Free State of Jones becomes a plodding film that tries too hard to fit too much into its already-too long two hours and 20 minutes. Painting McConaughey's Knight with the white saviour brush also doesn't help. While his performance is strong and determined, he can't hold the film together.The film is good on the period of the story that deals with the events during the Civil War but when that's over it rushes through the failed promises of the Reconstruction period.It relies on title cards to fill in the gaps and quickly loses its hold over what, as a TV miniseries, might have been a compelling story about how the more things change, the more they stay the same, especially in Mississippi.It wants to be an epic tale of one man's effect on the lives of a few in terrible circumstances, in the vein of Schindler's List, but it fails to focus its attention enough to achieve its lofty ambitions.If you want an on-screen history lesson about the Civil War you're still better served by Ken Burns's nine-part documentary series.It's unfortunate that Ross and fellow writer Leonard Hartman have only managed to create a film that simply tells a story, putting historical exposition in the mouths of its characters.The lesson is that's not the way to make a compelling dramatic adaptation.What others say:As powerful as this little-known episode is, it hasn't been well-served. It has a lumpy, ill-conceived script, wasting Matthew McConaughey's terrific lead performance and other strong acting contributions. - Godfrey Cheshire, rogerebert.comMCCONAUGHEY brings history to life. - Diana Saenger, ReviewExpress.comMCCONAUGHEY is ideally cast - so much for the plus-side of this disjointed, lifeless movie. - Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review..