Everything's great except...

Rating: 6/10 (9 February 2013)

First, the good part: As everybody says, the acting (and not only DDL's) is excellent. The production values are first class. The film effectively explores an important moment in US history, the Republican attempt to gain congressional approval of the 13th amendment abolishing slavery -- the Emancipation Proclamation applied only to the states in rebellion, and it was feared it would lose its legal standing after the conclusion of the war. The film makes clear the complexity and sometimes corruption of Lincoln's efforts to gain approval of the amendment. Best of all, the facts as presented seem well researched and in accord with history, a rarity in movies such as this.
However, like so many of Spielberg's recent films, this one is long on quality of manufacture and short on inspiration. Every emotional moment seems carefully and obviously planned for effect. This suffuses every scene -- the staginess and artificiality of direction constantly defeat the actors' best efforts to breathe life into their characters. And the first segment, especially, is unbearably crass and false -- fortunately not repeated to the same extent anywhere else.
I'll give Lincoln a 6/10 for its production quality, clarity, accuracy, acting, and the importance of its subject matter. But it could have been so much better with a bit of "magic." And really, that's why we go to the movies, isn't it?