Let's be honest about this film

Rating: 6/10 (17 November 2012)

Let's set aside the big Hollywood names acting in and directing this film, forget about its big budget, even forget about the seriousness of the topic. What are we left with, looked at just as a film?
For a start, it's very narrow in its content, focused entirely on how Lincoln got enough votes to get his anti-slavery amendment passed. That's all. Despite the grandness of the title "Lincoln," it's only about Lincoln in this one small, if important, moment of his career, covering in considerable detail how he rounded up the required votes, how he pressured certain politicians, horse-traded with others, cajoled, tried to inspire, tried everything he could think of to get the votes needed to pass the constitutional amendment outlawing slavery. There are no subplots other than a little to-and-fro with his wife and some brief scenes showing his sons--mere gestures rather than subplots. The film is all about the down-and-not-always-clean vote- gathering business of politics. Once the bill is passed, the film quickly comes to its close, with a few short scenes to bring the war to an end and Lincoln to his assassination.
There are very few outdoor scenes. Almost everything happens indoors. The characters are seldom shown other than in their roles as professional politicians. There are no beautiful women, no common people other than in the background, only white guys, just about all of them dressed pretty much the same and almost all wearing big beards. The atmosphere is slightly claustrophobic.
The seriousness of the issue and the moral grandeur of Lincoln, (perhaps deriving as much from his historical reputation as his depiction in the film) keep one's interest. Obviously the passing of the bill is a foregone conclusion, so there's no real suspense.
I couldn't help imagining this film when it comes out on DVD or in five or ten years from now, when it appears on television. How many people will want to see it for a second time? I don't think many people will. Teachers will use it, but I have a feeling it will be largely forgotten in the world of movies.
Are these Oscar-worthy performances? The acting is excellent, but, given the script, they didn't have great potential, and it's hard to see them as extraordinary.