A treatment for insomnia? Should be called "Amendment 13," not "Lincoln"

Rating: 4/10 (17 December 2012)

Stephen Spielberg is a victim of his previous successes in many ways. When a movie comes out emblazoned with his name, whether it is as producer or director, expectations mount. Viewers may go in expecting a transformative cinematic experience.
As he's older and more powerful in Hollywood, he also has more time for pet projects, and since press about this movie states that he has been working on it for years, it qualifies as a pet project. Unfortunately, with his current penchant for pet projects, he seems to have forgotten what brought him greatness in his earlier years: making movies that large numbers of people like, want, and enjoy seeing.
People who are students of American History, particularly the second half of the nineteenth century will be enthralled by the scores of political figures brought to life. They will marvel at the speeches and machinations of the House of Congress, as the jockeying to get Amendment 13 passed takes place.
But, to some of us, watching a bunch of guys in weird beards and weirder clothes posture to each other in big flowery speeches like it was some endless loop of vintage 1860's CSPAN, well it ain't our cup of tea. Several times throughout the beginning of the movie, he introduced scenes with subtitles beneath some of the characters, to let the viewing audience know who they are looking at. So, at some level he knew lots of people would be watching, scratching their heads and saying "huh?" "Lincoln" received a "four" from me because the art direction, cinematography, costuming and makeup are all first rate. But of course, one could say the same thing regarding the latest Tim Burton vanityfest.
The title "Lincoln" and the advance press buzz that it's a biopic would lead one to believe that maybe there would be scenes of actual slavery, to put into context what the men were arguing over. Or how about a little more background about Mary? Would it have hurt so much to flash back to Willie's death so we can see how it shaped her? Of course, I'm not a master movie maker or even a great novelist. But I know when something entertains me and when it doesn't. And I walked out on "Lincoln" about two-thirds of the way through.
Sorry Stevie!