The trailer shows too much of certain sequences in this Civil War film without doing it justice. Matthew McConaughey stars as Newton Knight, a Confederate medic who becomes a deserter after the death of his nephew (Jacob Lofland, one of McConaughey’s teenage costars in Mud). After an opening battle that captures the horrors of 19th Century warfare—blown-off faces, hogs dining on intestines—Newt heads home to be a “suth-un” Robin Hood, protecting the poor folks of Jones County from the Confederate Army. Who wouldn’t enlist in the McConaughey militia, even when it verges on Jonestown (not Jones County) cultishness? Then the war ends, and the movie does not, providing a rare, fascinating look at Reconstruction. 

Writer-director Gary Ross (The Hunger Games) peppers his script with pop philosophy and quips that sound pretty good when uttered by his Academy Award-winning star; the rest of the cast is where the filmmakers skimped. Bad Southern accents abound from everyone besides the underused Sean Bridgers, and man, that third act goes dark. If you overlook Free State of Jones’ odd implications on the Second Amendment, anti-government militias and the n-word, you might enjoy an above-average, sub-awards-level historical drama.