WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE

Rating: 8/10 (14 December 2018)

This was not the movie I thought I was going to see. This film is about the passage of the 13th amendment to free the slaves. It looks at the various backroom dealings with lame duck Democrats in order to obtain its passage. As a docu-drama it would make for an excellent showing in the classroom if not for the F-bomb Steven Spielberg insists on putting his his films (aka "Super 8") in order to ruin it for kids.
Sally Field played an excellent Mary Todd Lincoln capturing her period of perceived insanity. Tommy Lee Jones plays a very important role as Thaddeus Stevens, who was instrumental in the passage of the amendment. Daniel Day-Lewis creates a complex Lincoln, one that goes against the grain of former Lincoln performances. This film does not include the Gettysburg address delivered by Lincoln, but presents it by having others recite it. There are no Lincoln-Douglas debates, no rail splitting, nor does it show how his mother was killed during a zombie infestation as does other films.
The beginning of the film seemed liked an "Oliver Stone" revision of history where African-American soldiers speak up to Lincoln about inequality. This appears to be one of those scenes designed to compact history for the screen.
Parental Guidance: No sex or nudity. 1 F-bomb about midway through the film.