Thoroughly mis-represented and fell way short of my expectations

Rating: 6/10 (14 December 2012)

I love Steven Spielberg and I was so incredibly thrilled when I heard of this film. This was probably one of my most anticipated films of the year. I drove three hours to see the movie. I figured there was no way I could miss on this one. I was wrong. I read a few reviews on IMDb and they all voiced many of the same complaints I had. The biggest perhaps is that Lincoln...has very little to do with Lincoln. This film is in actuality 99% about the passing of the 13th Amendment. Lincoln is a player in all of it but this isn't about his life. In fact it barely scratches the surface of a blink in his presidency. How dare they call a film Lincoln and then not even bother to show him giving the Gettysburg address? They barely touch the assassination and the film is nearly entirely devoted to everyone in the House of Representatives arguing and the lobbyists trying to get the votes. Parts of it are interesting, uplifting and emotional but it runs far too long to only be about the passing of this bill. Was it a big moment in history? Of course. Should they have called it Lincoln? No. Some decent performances, and the few emotional moments save the film from being utter crap. If not for the fact that Spielberg was behind the camera and some strong lead performers this would have tanked completely.
Daniel Day-Lewis is brilliant as Lincoln. What a shame the film wasn't actually about him because he would have been heralded for his brilliant performance. He gives this subtle, quiet determination to Lincoln and shows just how incredibly charismatic Lincoln was. He is just awesome in the role. Sally Field is good as Mary Todd Lincoln. She's good but she's not great. I am a big fan of hers but I felt like she really overplayed the role. I mean considering what this movie is about her character should have been a very tiny part of the big picture. Instead they awkwardly force her manic, bi-polar personality into the story which makes her overly dramatic and makes her outburst scenes seem almost silly. Her and Day-Lewis do have good chemistry and they play well off of each other. Again, if the film had actually been about Lincoln she could have been amazing. David Strathairn is very good as Lincoln's chief of staff and adviser William Seward. He holds his own against Day-Lewis and the two of them together are excellent. Tommy Lee Jones gives a stand out performance as the outspoken Thaddeus Stevens. It's not a big role but his performance makes you take notice. James Spader also plays a top notch role as lobbyist Bilbo. He just has this distinct charisma in the role and he's fun to watch. The supporting cast is a virtual whose who of Hollywood A and B listers. You will recognize nearly every person on screen. Joseph Gordon Levitt has a very small, almost insignificant role as Robert Lincoln. He gets one good scene with Day-Lewis and is otherwise underused. Jackie Earle Haley, Bruce McGill and Jared Harris are a few of the supporting actors who give solid performances.
As you can tell I was not disappointed with the cast. Everyone was in place, everyone did well and there were some truly amazing performances. I suppose my biggest problem with the film is simply how disappointed I was that this wasn't about Lincoln's life. I expected a sweeping epic bio-pic about his life or at the very least his presidency and it was not even close. It shouldn't surprise me much that critics love this film and it is sweeping the awards categories. They are strictly picking this on the merit of heavyweights like Spielberg, Day-Lewis, Lee Jones etc. and the fact that it is a powerful moment in American history. The truth of the matter is that the mainstream public will be disappointed in this film. Some will be caught in the hype created by the critics who rave about it but when you peel back the layers of this film you will certainly see how misrepresented it was and how different it could have been. 6/10