Two-and-a-half hours is simply not enough!

Rating: 8/10 (10 December 2012)

After reading a few reviews of "Lincoln" - some of which heap unequivocal praise on the film, others which seem to come straight from the keyboards of indignant secessionists - the one major flaw of the film, I believe, has been overlooked. The main flaw with Lincoln isn't its "wordiness" (one could have the same obtuse critique of any of Shakespeare's plays put to film), or its hero-worship of a historical figure (Lincoln's portrayed more as a conduit for high ideals rather than himself superhuman) - instead its weakness comes from one of its strengths: the sheer number of fascinating characters which lack in character development.
The screen time of every character besides Lincoln (Daniel D. Lewis) and, arguably, Congressman Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones) are abbreviated to the point where one senses a great void in the "Lincoln" back-story. While the inability to flush out these numerous characters in a single movie's running time is understandable, I still feel slightly cheated by meeting so many appealing characters yet learning so very little about them. (Interesting to note, this is a flaw which stems from the greatness of the supporting actors performances and an otherwise excellent plot.)
In comparison to similar works about an American President and their most intimate circles, particularly the recent "The Kennedys" mini-series, "Lincoln" does not expand much on most of the characters central to its story. With "The Kennedys" series, all of the main characters are flushed out to the point that a viewer may start to think of oneself as a fly-on-the-wall in the actual Kennedy household(s). Granted, "The Kennedys" is about six hours running time and made for TV which leaves me only to wonder if such a running time is necessary to do a film like "Lincoln" complete justice. (Personally, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a very extended director's cut.)
Yet, perhaps, this void in "Lincoln"'s back-story was part of Spielberg's intent - to spark an interest in the mind of his audience, to spur them to learn more about the people surrounding the debate of the 13th Amendment, and, possibly, to get them to read "A Team of Rivals" for themselves.
If this is so, I applaud Spielberg's ingenuity and if he were to send me a copy of "A Team of Rivals", I would surely send him my "Lincoln" ticket stub.