Review of Lincoln (2012) by Calzo777 — 16 Feb 2013

Lincoln, from the title you would assume is a film about Lincoln, however you may be disappointed to find that its more to do with the passing of the 13th Amendment. This is a problem purely due to the fact that everyone knows what came to pass in history or even take a guess as to what happened making long scenes of politicians talking about the amendment and discussing racial issues and war with seemingly no progression all the more tiresome. However there is some saving grace in its monotonous dialogue which is the acting. The actors and actresses really bring out the roles they play most notably Daniel Day-Lewis but also Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field. Their interactions and dialogue are easily the most interesting part in the story which leads back to Lincoln's main problem. There's a lack of balance between the parts about the 13th amendment and the life of Lincoln and his family which were very dramatic. Its a long film so both parts are attempted in depth making the story convoluted and sometimes difficult to follow. Though at least the visual style and lighting of scenes add at least some flavor to the scenes. It has a very gritty style suiting the era while also seeming fresh.

By the end, and I honestly wouldn't call this a spoiler, when the amendments been passed and Lincoln is dead we really haven't been able to get to know the characters well enough to really care that this great leader has died. Take for instance the classic "Amadeus", in the poster it tells us that he dies but even at the end in knowing this its sad to see him die because we got to know him and got to connect with his character. Lincoln however fails to be "about" Lincoln.