Matthew McConaughey, playing a farmer and soldier in 1860s Mississippi (during the Civil War), keeps this film (based on true events) from turning into a sequence of clichés. McConaughey’s character, disgusted by slavery, fights against all who would treat men (and, notably for this time, women) as anything less than free. At 2.5 hours this is a lengthy film but unlike other viewers I’ve heard from, the time went by quickly for me. Worth the time, I believe.
