Spielberg's "Lincoln" Makes Short Shrift of American Slavery

Rating: 1/10 (24 October 2012)

Last night we saw a screening of Steven Spielberg's film LINCOLN. I do not plan to see this film again; however I would not discourage anyone from seeing it. As I see it, this film is more of a tribute to Doris Kearns Goodwin's book, "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln", rather than the life and times of Abraham Lincoln.
In LINCOLN, Spielberg, with his retinue of John Williams (film score), Janusz Kaminski (cinematography) and David Crank (art direction), gives us an alchemy of film making that simply weakens as we're made to plow through the awkwardness of Tony Kushner's wordy screenplay. Too often I had overlooked the challenges several key actors had in delivering their lines—text written more for reading rather than oral delivery. Odd that Kushner didn't do a better job of translating Goodwin's book, often criticized for being heavily researched yet depth-less in its treatment of that period.
There are numerous artistic missteps that, for me, kept bringing the film down to tawdry and even boring at times. And certainly having John Williams compose a piano solo in the middle of a scene symbolizing the end of the Civil War was utterly distracting, where using a chorus softly humming could have made the same scene compelling and powerful. (He does use a chorus humming in another scene, again a misstep.)
As to the acting, well, other than having to chew with overly huge mouthfuls of dialogue, I enjoyed the range of thespian theatrics. Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln gives a good yet measured performance, hampered at times by the "Jesus" lighting Spielberg insists is necessary. When you see the film you'll know what I mean. Actually, several actors get that treatment. To me, it's almost laughable.
Sally Field as Mary Lincoln is good too, but it's the same wonderful Sally Field "acting" we see in so many of her films. Tommy Jones, as a powerful Pennsylvania Republican leader, gives another great Tommy Lee Jones performance, and for many, it will be a highlight of the film.
However, for me, it's Jared Harris (Mad Men) who really shines as Ulysses S. Grant. It took me a while to see him through the make-up—which is also a star of the film—but I never got over how remarkably he brought Grant to life, and as close as the person sitting next to you in the theater. Indeed, an award-worthy performance!
Having said all this, among my greatest concerns about Spielberg's LINCOLN are that it overly emphasizes the passing of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitutionto free the slaves. Yet in spite of itself, in a rather disturbing way, the film promotes the idea that slavery ended in the 19th Century. And because of Douglas Blackmon's Pulitzer Prize book,"Slavery by Another Name", we now know that slavery in the U.S. continued far into the 20th Century. In fact, Blackmon details it through World War II. For me, the film loses power with its short shrift of slavery and its narrow, uninspired focus on Washington politics as usual.
Finally, the most glaring flaw in my view is that Spielberg, in his seemingly obsessive zeal to further sanitize the Lincoln legend, glosses over the fact that Lincoln, aside from his reported hatred of slavery, was definitely not an abolitionist. In truth, he felt that freed Blacks should be sent back to Africa, or Central America. And he was clear that he did not want to interfere with slavery in places where it already existed.
This quote is damning to the Spielberg whitewash of Lincoln: "I will say, then, that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races--that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this, that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I, as much as any other man, am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race." - Abraham Lincoln, from a speech he delivered in 1858 in Charleston, Ill.
In LINCOLN, it's as if Spielberg has resurrected the old Selznick touch, but in this case it's in such a heavy-handed way, we nearly lose our passion to care. It's certainly not worthy of seeing again by this African American reviewer. Nevertheless, see it for yourself and report back. We'd like to know what you think!