The race for the 13th Amendment

Rating: 5/10 (23 January 2014)

The title of the film implies that this is a biography of the 16th President of the USA. It really is about the adoption of the 13th Amendment making slavery illegal as federal law.
The action takes place after Lincoln's re-election during the month of January of 1865 before the new elected politicians take their seats.
After four years of Civil War, the North might be close to victory, but before the seceded states rejoin the union, the President needs to pass the 13th Amendment or the war would had been meaningless as the Southern states would still continue to have slavery in some form.
So it needed to be outlawed at the federal level.
Abraham Lincoln uses political manoeuvrings to get the law passed. The interesting aspect of the film is James Spader and his cohorts (very much the precursor to the modern spin doctors) using patronage, bribes and other inducements to get Democrats to vote for the amendment.
However the film becomes scenes after scenes of politicians talking, gesturing, making speeches.
Daniel Day Lewis is fine as Lincoln but I would not say it particularly deserved an Oscar. Although these days he just need to appear on screen to get an Oscar nomination.
Although he is about the same age as Lincoln at the time of the film's setting he looks too young to be Lincoln.
Some hysterical commentators even said he sounded like Lincoln without much evidence for this.
To give him character we have way too many scenes of Lincoln telling homespun stories that just drag and drag. At one point one of the Senators complains about his stories and leaves.
Even I was praying for John Wilkes Booth to show up early as Lincoln told another pointless folksy tale!
There is some attempt to placate the critics from the Southern states as Lincoln discusses how he might have overstepped his powers in declaring war with the south.
In that respect it mirrors the political machinations shown in the recent Robert Redford directed, The Conspirator which dealt with the aftermath of the Lincoln assassination.
To give Lincoln a rounded characterisation we have some scenes of his family life. His wife played by Sally Field mourns the loss of one of their children.
Lincoln is and playing in the White House with their youngest son. Plus we have scenes of his eldest son wanting to fight in the war but prevented by his parents to his frustrations.
This scenes are mildly diverting but Sally Field is miscast as she is too old (9 years older than Day-Lewis) and she looks botoxed.
The film is nicely crafted, well acted, great wigs and facial hairs. It tries to make politics interesting although the general viewer not familiar with US politics from that era would be left bewildered that it is the Democrats (the party that gave the USA, its first black President) supporting slavery with the Republicans being abolitionists.
I am sure Spielberg was greatly tempted to add the line, 'one day they might even be a black President!'
However it is a long film, not well written with too much clunky speeches, the screenplay never really catches fire.
Just look at the scene near the end when Tommy Lee Jones (one of the most fervent supporters of equality) walks home with the Amendment Bill and as he enters the house, most people can guess what will happen next.