A surprisingly satisfying "alternate history" adventure

Rating: 7/10 (1 July 2012)

I read the book almost on a dare, but was surprised to find that the author had put in almost as much solid research as Doris Kearns Goodwin, the author of the definitive Lincoln work "Team of Rivals," to make his background solid. The film mostly lives up to the book and with or without the trashy/fun overlay of the supernatural admirably depicts the LOOK and feel of America in the mid-19th Century.
While some admirable elements (like the frame) of the book are passed over, with the exception of the few White House scenes where only one Lincoln child is mentioned, the Cabinet is ignored and Lincoln's actual two white secretaries, Nicolay and Hay, are conflated into one black friend of the President's, most of the actual historical figures are more than fairly painted even as the film starts to drift from the tight structure of the book toward the end.
Over all the film is a fun "alternate history" which ironically does bring the actual issue of slavery back into an examination of the Civil War. We came away (and the friend who went with me had not read the book) having found the film exceptionally well cast, acted and directed and immensely satisfying. Most satisfying of all, the more solid knowledge of history you HAVE, the more you'll enjoy the film, although it plays well merely as adventure. Benjamin Walker's Lincoln - he made a notable mark on Broadway last season playing a "Bloody, Bloody (President) Andrew Jackson" - is particularly good, blending a credible young Lincoln with the more ingrained popular image from the penny. If the film has a fault, it is over produced in places (the burning bridge scene) - but to criticize it for that would be like damning GONE WITH THE WIND for the "burning of Atlanta" scene going on too long! Mark it as something better than a guilty pleasure. Too many of the print critics heard the concept and assumed it had to be a campy spoof like Roman Polanski's THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE SLAYERS or PLEASE TAKE YOUR FANGS OUT OF MY NECK - and seemed upset that it wasn't. Go for what it IS, and you'll have a very good time.