Lincoln is not a perfect film, but it is an important film

Rating: 8/10 (21 January 2013)

I'm not a historian, but I do agree, that the audience is spoon fed a story where Lincoln is always the crusader against slavery, and everyone else is playing politics against him. Seeing Lincoln only as always fighting slavery painted the most unrealistic picture of Lincoln, I've ever seen. While it is true that Lincoln regarded slavery as an evil and harmful institution, it is also true, that he shared the conviction of most Americans of his time, and of many prominent statesmen before and after him, that blacks could not be assimilated into white society. He rejected the notion of social equality of the races, and held to the view that blacks should be resettled abroad. As President, he supported projects to remove blacks from the United States as well suspended the writ of habeas corpus, which allowed him to arrest thousands of U.S. citizens that protest against him. This Steven Spielberg movie borders on propaganda somewhat, as the media hold Lincoln to be about the closest thing to a Biblical figure in American history without really looking at those facts. The movie makes 'Lincoln' look like that everybody love him at the time, while a small few whom has slaves are against him. It's hardly the truth. Not all people that protest against him was because they for slavery. He was just as unpopular in the north during the war for his attempts among other things to control the press. He didn't become God-like popular until after his assassination. The movie was to sanitized and staid for my tastes, but it does somewhat show how Lincoln certainly willing to do questionable rule-breaking actions for the greater good. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and there's a certain amount of rule-skirting that's right and proper when engaging in a noble mission like the abolition of slavery. Still the movie placed Lincoln the man on a near messianic level. He was a man of great accomplishments--maybe the greatest President--but he was not the faultless figure portrayed in this picture, still Lincoln the movie is a moving piece. The movie starts with two fan boys soldiers quoting Lincoln's greatest speech--'Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation' after witnessing the brutal civil war battle in the rain between Black Soldiers and White Rebels. It's set the tone of the film, it's about trying to heal the country during the closest months of the war. There will be no more battle footage beyond this point, as the battle go from the fields to the House of Representatives. The pacing of the film is not for all audience, as the movie can seem boring to those who seeking an action-packed Civil War movie. Anybody seeking a movie like that will be disappointed. The movie focus more on efforts, during January 1865, to obtain passage for the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in the house which would formally abolish slavery while seeking for peace with the South. Daniel Day Lewis is magnificent in the role, the acting in the film was just awesome. He can really show Lincoln's melancholy side, his weird side of humor, and Lincoln's great use of story-telling. He will scoop the Oscar without doubt. The make up in the film makes him look like Lincoln to the point, it wasn't Daniel Day Lewis playing Lincoln, but Lincoln playing Lincoln. So uncanny. Daniel is surrounding by a great supporting cast, such as Sally Fields playing Mary Todd Lincoln. She was the right actress to portray all the fragility and complexity that was Mary Todd. There was sub-plots about Lincoln dealing with his oldest child Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), joining the Army. The way, Mary Todd makes Lincoln's life miserables over this issue is interesting scene. It's creepy when she mention the death of their other child like that. I'm surprised the film didn't bother dealing Lincoln's homosexual overtones with others men as a way to get away from Mary Todd, but it's explain a bit the sexual history between Mary Todd and Lincoln by stating out that Lincoln was too busy with the war to be the husband that Mary Todd wanted. The scene where Mary Todd hold Thaddeus is smart, but I was kinda disappointed with Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens. Tommy Lee Jones was good, but I'm so used to Tommy Lee Jones playing this type of role that I was kinda bored by his performance. It felt like Tommy Lee Jones playing Tommy Lee Jones. I groaned at the obvious foreshadowing of Lincoln's death, but the movie doesn't show the assassination. It felt like a lost chance to make the audience feel more for the character, as it's probably one of the reasons, people went to see this film. They wanted to feel sad about Lincoln dying. Sadly, the large movie audiences won't appreciate this film, because there's a fine line between learning history and living history. While the movie makes history come alive, it's doesn't have the features to draw people to see a movie. There is little violence, no nudity, and has way too much talking scenes. A lot of people will be missing out of this movie just because of those reasons. Check it out-- and see it yourself. You will find yourself, smarter and wiser after watching it.