"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.