"Lincoln" Movie Review

Yesterday afternoon I finally had the chance to see the movie "Lincoln".  As I mentioned in my last post, this movie is based in part on the Doris Kearns-Goodwin book "Team of Rivals."  "Lincoln" focuses on the House of Representatives' passage of the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, which bans slavery.  Of course, this was a very contentious issue and it took a lot of persuading on the part of the Republicans (Lincoln's party) to get key Democrats to vote with the Republicans and pass the Amendment.  This is my review of that movie.

First, let me state that I am not a big movie person.  Primarily, this is because I have a short attention span.  When I'm home watching TV or movies, I can check Facebook or text friends or any other thing I might like to do.  In a theater, however, the only permissible activity is watching the movie (short of sleeping I suppose).  For me, if a movie is much over 90 minutes, I start to lose interest.  If it is over two hours, I really get antsy.  So when I saw that "Lincoln" is 2.5 hours, I was a little worried.  I need not have been.  The movie is fairly fast-paced and I didn't notice the time at all.  I don't think I even once felt the urge to check my watch to see how much time was left.  This is definitely a sign of a good movie.

One of the highlights of the movie is the casting.  Daniel Day-Lewis, quite simply, is Abraham Lincoln, or he at least is what I'd imagine Lincoln to be.  He really does look like him, particularly in profile.  It's as if you could take his face and seamlessly place it on the penny or $5 bill and not notice the difference.  The movements, the voice, the manner of speaking all felt spot on.  I've heard some criticism of the voice by people who expect Lincoln to have a deep booming voice.  He did not have that kind of voice.  It was higher pitched according to contemporary reports, and Day-Lewis is perfect in that regard I think.  Of course, we can't know for sure but it felt right.

The rest of the cast was generally great as well.  Having read Kearns-Goodwin's book, I recognized the members of Lincoln's cabinet immediately.  All the main actors looked very much like the character they were playing.  The only disappointment here was Sally Field, who played Mary Todd Lincoln.  I'm not sure what it was, but I just didn't buy her as Mrs. Lincoln the way I bought the other actors as their characters.  She never became her character in the way the others did.  But she wasn't terrible either so didn't affect my enjoyment of the movie.

Another sign of a good movie is when it's suspenseful even when you know how it turns out.  We know the 13th Amendment passed.  Nevertheless, it feels like the result is uncertain when you're watching the representatives vote.  You wonder which of the Democrats they targeted voted against their party.  Some in the movie theater actually cheered as the "aye" votes were announced.  It was very well-written I thought.

My only real criticism is the ending.  I don't think I need to announce a spoiler alert when I say that Lincoln dies at the end.  There's a scene right before the shooting that I think would have been a more appropriate ending.  The theater and death scenes seemed disjointed, as if the writers/producers/directors felt like they had to "complete" the story.  I think most people are fairly well aware of how it all ends, and implying that ending would have been better and indeed more poignant than actually showing Lincoln on his death bed.

Overall, this was an excellent movie that I'm sure will garner many nominations and awards this season.  I'm glad I saw it in the theater.  It was well worth it.

Lincoln -- The Movie

I am very excited about the movie Lincoln, which is opening nationwide this weekend.  It is based on Doris Kearns Goodwin's book, "Team of Rivals", which I have read and is an excellent book.  I very rarely see movies in the teater anymore, so it takes a lot to get me excited to go.  And I cannot wait to see this.  The movie is particularly welcome in my mind following that idiotic Lincoln chases vampires movie that was out a while back.  No, I didn't see that movie; yet I am completely comfortable calling it idiotic.  Afterall, it got a mere 35% tomatometer rating, which I tend to trust. (See rottentomatoes.com if you are unfamiliar with the tomatometer).  Incidentally, Lincoln gets a 92%.  This is going to be good.

Given that it's a movie at least in part based on a book, I will write a review of it after I see it.  I'm hoping to go this weekend, but I'm not sure if I'll have time due to on prior commitments.  But I do hope to see it as soon as possible.

Please see my survey regarding this movie and let me know if you are planning to see it!  Happy moviegoing!

Kevin J. Hayes, "The Mind of a Patriot: Patrick Henry and the World of Ideas" (University of Virginia Press 2008)

When I was last in Washington, D.C., I visited the Library of Congress. There, in a dimly lit room was an exhibition of Thomas Jefferson's books. It was fascinating to look at these old books, especially the law books with titles and authors I recognized. Patrick Henry had no such collection. This lack of a personal library has led some to believe that Henry was not a well-read man. Indeed, he wasn't educated in the same way as many founding fathers such as Jefferson or John Adams were. However, Henry did become a lawyer and a celebrated orator, uttering the famous lines, "Give me liberty or give me death!"

With this book, author Kevin J. Hayes purports abolish the idea that Henry was not well-read simply because he didn't have an extensive library.  At the time of Henry's death, an inventory of his books was taken.  This list of 188 books is reproduced in the appendix to this book.  Jefferson's personal library, by contrast, measured in the thousands.  So what does Henry's library say about him?

Hayes points out that while Henry read many books, he did not feel compelled to retain them once he absorbed the contents.  He would generally give books away once he was done with them, rather than keep them to accumulate dust on a shelf.  However, the books Henry does have tell us a lot about him.  One thing that jumped out at me was the similarity between the famous quote listed above to lines in Joseph Addison's Cato:  It is not now a time to talk of aught/But chains, or conquest; liberty or death." (p. 73)  Hayes makes it clear that Henry pulled much from written sources.

It was also interesting to see the number of English spelling and usage books Henry had in his library.  He was always interested in improving his speaking skills. Finally, as a lawyer he possessed all the important books that lawyers of the day typically read. 

I really enjoyed this book that showed an example of how the books people read in the Revolutionary era shaped the times.  This was a unique perspective and one that I appreciated as a book lover and history buff.  It made me think about what my library says about me. 

National Book Festival

The National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. starts tomorrow, and alas I will not be there.  We found a decent airfare out of Milwaukee and our usual hotel in Alexandria had a good rate; however, logistics dictated that we couldn't take advantage of it.  It was a close call though!  If I were there, the History & Biography tent is where I would have spent most of my time.  Fortunately, C-Span2 has live coverage of the History & Biography tent, so I can still get my book festival fix remotely.  Believe me, I will be tuning in!

How my Ipad is ruining my life (sort of)

Just last night, I started reading a new book about Patrick Henry.  Before that, I was reading a book about U.S. Grant.  However, I only got about half way through the Grant book, which I started fairly early in the summer.  It's not that it was a bad book at all.  It's just that I have an Ipad, and I'm addicted to it.  I love to read, but the next round of Words With Friends or Song Pop keeps calling me.  Or I might miss some very important new announcement on Facebook or Twitter.  Somehow, I keep choosing to do all of that before reading.

This is a new experience for me.  As a kid, I had video games on the Commodore 64 and later Atari (yes, I am fully aware that this dates me), and I don't recall those games ever coming before reading.  I don't think my parents had to put any kind of computer time limit on me to drag me away from hour upon hour of Donkey Kong, Q-Bert, or Summer Games.  But it appears I need something like that now.

So, it's time to turn a new leaf.  I didn't really want to start the Grant book over again, and didn't want to continue from the middle when I don't much remember what I read in the first half.  So I thought the best way to start fresh was to just pick a new book and start again from there.  Hence the Patrick Henry book.  Now I just need to come up with some new rules regarding my Ipad use so that I don't find myself half-way through this book three months from now.

Oh, and there's also the cat in the library cross-stitch I've been neglecting.  In the language of Twitter, #firstworldproblems. 

National Book Festival

The National Book Festival in Washington, DC is coming up on September 22-23.  After going last year, I'm really sad to not be going this year.  My husband has been checking for cheap airfares to DC but so far there's nothing low enough to justify us going.  Luckily, there aren't any authors I'm dying to see, as was the case last year with David McCullough.  Regardless, it's such a great atmosphere that I still wish I was going.  So here's hoping for a miracle cheap airfare!

Please see the Library of Congress website (http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/) for information on the festival if you are lucky enough to be able to attend.  It's a wonderful experience for any book lover. 

Library of Congress Names Books that Shaped America

I am a huge fan of the Library of Congress (who'd have guessed!?!).  I had the good fortune to make my first trip to their National Book Festival last year and can't wait to go again some time.  The reading room in the Thomas Jefferson building in DC might be one of my favorite rooms in the world.  Tomorrow (June 25, 2012) they open an exhibit entitled "Books that Shaped America."  This is not intended to be a list of the best books in America, but those that have been influential in one way or another.  Therefore, you see books you probably wouldn't otherwise see on a "best of" list.  Examples include cookbooks, children's books and even a childcare book by Dr. Spock.  The Library is also taking suggestions for other books to add to the list.  Unfortunately, it's unlikely I will make it to DC before the exhibit closes on September 29.  :(

You can find information about the exhibit and the list of the books chosen at http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2012/12-123.html.  I have read only eighteen of the books listed so I have a lot of reading to do!  How many have you read?

"Ellen and Edith: Woodrow Wilson's First Ladies" by Kristie Miller (University Press of Kansas 2012)

Wow!  I can't believe how fast time flies.  This is my first post of 2012, which is terrible, but better late than never I suppose!  So here's my first book review of the year.

I read a lot of history and biography books, but my focus tends to be pre-1900.  However, when I was at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. last fall, I had the opportunity to see Kristie Miller discuss this book.  I was intrigued and purchased the book as soon as I returned home.

The first thing you notice about this book is its feel.  It's narrower than the average book and is wrapped in something more leather-like than usual.  I always take the dust jacket off when I read a book, so it was nicer to hold than other books.

Prior to seeing Ms. Miller speak, I knew very little about President Wilson other than that he was President during WWI.  I wasn't aware he had two wives during his term, and while this book focuses on them, I learned a lot about President Wilson as well.  He was a man who needed a woman by his side, and he married his second wife (Edith) not too long after the death of his first wife (Ellen). 

Wilson married Ellen well before he got into politics.  Ellen could have had a career of her own as an artist, but she chose to give that up to support her husband, first as a professor at and president of Princeton and then as a politician.  She raised the couple's children and probably was a more astute politician than her husband.  She also looked the other way when Wilson had a close, if not adulterous, relationship with another woman.  Unfortunately, Ellen died during Wilson's first term.

Seventeen months after Ellen's death, Wilson married Edith.  This might have been considered too soon, but even Wilson's daughters acknowleged that he needed female companionship.  Edith was a controversial figure.  Some time into Wilson's second term, he suffered a series of strokes that left him largely incpacitated.  Rather than turn power over to the Vice Presdient, Edith essentially took over.  The French Ambassabor even referred to her as "Mme. President" when Edith rather than Wilson met with him to dicuss terms of the treaty that would end WWI.  Edith determined who could see the President and which issues would be brought to him and which wouldn't.  Wilson died in 1924, just three years after leaving office in 1921.  Edith survived him by nearly 40 years and spent much of that time rehabilitating what was a fairly negative impression of Wilson's predidency.

One thing that really struck me while reading this book was how much time President Wilson spent golfing.  It seemed the more stressful the times, the more he golfed to relieve that stress.  We hear a lot of negative comments today about the amount of time President Obama spends on the golf course, as if it affects his ability to govern.  I think Wilson's example shows that he was a better President when he took that time away from the job, and we should possibly be less critical of modern Presidents doing the same.

I enjoyed this book and found it easy to read.  Sometimes biographies can get read like history textbooks and this definitely reads as a story.  I would recommend this book for the following audiences: anyone who thinks they don't like reading history or biographies or is new to this era of history, as I was; those who enjoy reading about Presidents or First Ladies; and those who enjoy WWI-era history.


Book cover image courtesy of http://www.kansaspress.ku.edu/milell.html