Abraham Lincoln has been the focus of more book and movie titles than any other American president in history, and deservedly so even if you take away the tragic assassination. To sit in the chair that decides the future of an entire nation, knowing that half of that nation will not just hate you but strongly consider acting on that hate, is a task that no good man would either ask for or shy away from. As compelling as that amounts to as historical drama, it doesn’t guarantee cinematic drama, not even with one of the most successful film directors behind it.
Lincoln opens on a Civil War battlefield with soldiers stabbing, shooting, punching, and even drowning their national brothers. The President (Daniel Day-Lewis) talks to several black soldiers who show their enthusiasm and support by reciting the Gettysburg Address. President Lincoln is a simultaneous picture of both the statesman and the everyman. Then, just as the soldiers trudged along a muddy road towards the next rainy battlefield, the movie also hit a muddy road.
It bothered me that I couldn’t immerse myself into the film, and it equally bothers me that I cannot precisely explain why. Lincoln, emotionally and visually, is a dark. Realistically, there was no electricity, and it seems that Spielberg wanted to stick to the times and rely mainly on candles and oil lamps. Most rooms are on the dreary side, dimly lit backgrounds and shadowed faces, and it gave a snoozy feel to the majority of the two and a half hours.
Lincoln is not an action film. It’s not about the Civil War but the war behind the war. When Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” he meant that the split decision on slavery would result in a country falling apart, which was in process. Congress was fighting for their regional perceptions of what America had been and should continue to be versus what it should instead become. Again, historical drama but not cinematic drama. It’s a lot of talking, subtle attempts at making back-alley deals, but not courtroom drama-type debating, finger pointing, book slamming, and gavel pounding. Abe was a soft-spoken figure, and it was a stretch to have a few scenes in which he actually drummed up some anger and raised his voice at the surrounding representatives. Then he found a quiet place to sit, read, and think. On at least one of those occasions, I too was in a quiet place to sit, think, and sleep. I’m not proud that I fell asleep at least twice during the film, and it is entirely possible that I missed something that would have changed my opinion, but the person next to me said that wasn’t the case.
Spielberg tries to sprinkle a little emotion in a few places. You can’t have Sally Field at Mrs. Lincoln without taking your eyes off her. She’s the most compelling character on screen and the only one who really shows much life, but her husband reacts to her as if she is crazy. Having lost three children already and facing the loss of their fourth (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and last to the war will do that to you. The few scenes we’ve seen of a hyped-up Lincoln feel out of place. In the most memorable outburst he yells that he is “The President of the United States, clothed in immense power!” And then he sends two very minor figures to go off and make things happen. This is necessary because, as President, he didn’t have the legal ability to influence the vote on the vote for the Thirteenth Amendment. It would have been an impeachable offense, thus dispatching the lackeys to do the dirty work. Appearances by Hal Holbrook (everything), Tommy Lee Jones (everything else), and David Strathairn (A League of Their Own, Eight Men Out) do little to contribute to either the story or the drama and mainly are there to help the costume designer look good.
By the time Congress sits to vote, it felt anti-climactic. We knew how the vote would go. Spielberg knew that we knew. However, his attempt to add drama to the moment did nothing but cheapen the moment. More than one member of Congress is seen casting and then changing his vote. Several mumble and stutter, still not certain as the words leave their lips. It certainly seems as if Congress was nothing more than babbling fools, incapable of making an informed decision. For those of us who look back at our Founding Fathers with respect, the vote scene seems to knock the pedestal out from under them.
I love history. I love anything Presidential and have read many biographies about the great men of the 1700’s including Washington, Franklin, John Adams, and Jefferson, so it wasn’t a matter of a high school flashback that lulled the life out of me. My apologies to Mr. Lustbader from sophomore social studies because I would have much rather listened to yet another of your lectures instead sitting through Spielberg’s Lincoln. To borrow from someone else, Lincoln is an important film, but it’s not a great film.
Teacher gives it a C-.
brainsnorts inc. 
Well, this is disappointing news. Was looking forward to watching Daniel Day-Lewis. Have you seen Lincoln, as vampire slayer?
Honestly, I didn’t think I’d like it. Not my cuppa. But actually, I enjoyed it immensely.
Enjoyed your review, too. As usual.
aww, sorry – only my opinion, maybe you’ll like it. i’m thinking i might have liked the vampire version better. thanks for reading.
Sally Field was indeed the bright light of the film. I felt about the same way as you did. While the acting is superb, it’s a bit too talky for me.
i’m embarrassed to say i fell asleep. twice.
ha ha!!!! Well at least you got your money’s worth. Sleep is hard to come by these days.
Hi Rich,
Any movie that induces sleep lacks dramatic power. I think you have to work harder when your audience knows the outcome. Have not seen Lincoln, and probably won’t until it comes on one of my remium cable channels. I also think political movies are a tough sell and this sounds more like a political movie than anything else.
I think there’s a blog you’d like. It’s called blooddirtangels.com and it’s movie reviews and other stuff about cinema. Check it out. Ron
will do. thanks. i’ve been slowing up on blog things lately and trying to focus on writing and then hopefully contacting agents. got struck recently with a great idea for a book, really creepy – but reality creepy – not stephen king creepy. and i think it’ll be a piece of cake to write it because of reasons i won’t say here. but i’ll check out that site, thanks.
Thanks for the warning! If you’re an avid bio reader AND this movie put you to sleep it must be very, very slow and tedious. Yikes.
that’s what i’m talking about. thanks for reading.
Aw, now I want to hear about the creepy book idea!
I constantly fail to remember that people check the comments too. Thanks for reading.
I always read the comment threads. That’s how I find interesting blogs to read, such as yours!
And no, you’re not going to give away any creepy spoilers, are you?
never give spoilers without a warning.
Okay, I’ll wait for the darned book, then, grumble grumble!
i’ll send you the first draft for a critique. about two months. maybe one.
Gee teacher, you’re a rough grader. Spielberg’s Amistad and the John Adams portrayal was quite good. I liked Lincoln too.
I enjoyed amistad and took a trip up to visit the actual ship. I did not see the John Adams movie but I greatly enjoyed the book. Thanks for reading.
This movie felt like a play to me. I agree that the acting was great all around, but there was something off about the direction. I also felt that they were trying to play too hard to the idea that the political parties of the day were essentially reversed to what they are now While it’s interesting how history has shaped the political parties, it felt sort of like an ongoing gag instead of insightful commentary. My two cents.
I saw this on a Disney Cruise, FWIW, so I may have been looking for more mental stimulation than any movie was capable of providing.
oooh, disney cruise. i hear they’re outstanding. and yes, it was probably not the best time to view this kind of movie. i agree. thanks for reading.
Huh. I was looking forward to this one considering all the award nominations. But if it put a person who reads so many biographies to sleep, it must really be very slow
i won’t say you shouldn’t give it a try, but i will say don’t make it a priority. thanks for reading. nice to see that sly grin.
Will all due respect to your review, I saw it and thoroughly enjoyed it.. 😉
with all due respect to your enjoyment – that is first and foremost what’s important. that you enjoyed it. i appreciate the “due respect” thing, but it isn’t necessary. i know i’m in the minority on this one.
😉
I don’t know whether you’re in the minority on this one. Unfortunately, I didn’t fall asleep, which meant that I had to see every aching moment of it. I agree with most of what you said, though I think you stumbled when you described Ms Fields. It seemed to me that the film also had an agenda, and so did a disservice to American history… but I don’t know if anyone goes to a movie and expects accurate history. A boring movie. The review was quite good, though.
thanks very much. i was waiting to see if you had seen it and what you may have thought. good to know i’m not alone. thanks for reading.
I’ve heard similar reports, however patriotism can carry a lot of weight, especially among a committee of pale faced, aged men.
yeah, true. thanks for reading.
Sorry you didn’t care for the film. I haven’t seen it, and, especially now, probably won’t.
go ahead. see it. bring a pillow. or coffee.
Hopefully the sequel will be better…
Perfect for the $4 theater which is where I’ll likely see it if I get there. I love history, too, but often it reads better than it translates to film.
(Lackeys, BTW, no apostrophe. 🙂
dangit. thanks.