you watch the movie

Rating: 6/10 (5 January 2019)

I don't really know how to feel about this one. it's kind of impossibly boring and also pretty interesting and also BIG cheese.
some of the early scenes feel like an after school special with Daniel Day Lewis doing a pretty good Abe Lincoln impression. the secret best part is James Spader who is doing something in his performance which i'm not sure is objectively good but is fun to watch. Sally Field is miscast.
the shooting is beautiful but the lighting sometimes feels out of place or aggressively romantic. that's the thing with the whole movie - it's all so heavy handed. the script doesn't feel earnest and never really catches up to the gravity of the subject matter without feeling forced or artificial.
i won't watch it again but i watched it all intently so i suppose it was all good. Worth watching if you love Day-Lewis.