so-so, but not certainly not the best film of the year

Rating: 4/10 (6 February 2013)

I will not go into the details of the film plot, as there are plenty of other synopsis to read, instead I'll keep this review to opinions as I see them.
This is truly a 50/50 film; on the one hand you have excellent sets, cinematography and some top class acting - of which my favourite performance was by far that of James Spader as W. N. Bilbo. On the other hand was the turgid, drawn out, snooze-fest that was how the story was told. This film could easily be an hour or so shorter and not suffer for it, or could have (and probably should have) been a made for TV docu-drama.
Unfortunately this films failing is that despite the performances and the dressing up of the original media - it is still just politicians talking and/or arguing for two-and-a-half hours. The outcome of said argument is known going into the film so you leave the cinema feeling short-changed by the content, especially considering the tumultuous events that are going on in the background - i.e. the civil war! Whilst there are constant references to the war going on and a couple of scenes of Day-Lewis sitting on the edge of a battlefield, I don't feel this momentous event is made the most of and could have been used as a vehicle to inject some much needed action to an otherwise dottery film. This is why I make special mention of Spaders performance, as his brand of light-hearted relief lifts the film from poor to average, and left me wanting to know what he will be staring in next, rather than any other acting talent on show.
In summary, I would say that this film will be to most Americans what "The Queen" was to most British people – and put on a pedestal because of the subject matter. But neither films are particularly enjoyable watch's and once you've seen them once, you'll never have to (or want to) see them again.