Review of Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) by Hunter D — 03 Feb 2010
Peter Bogdanovich said that watching a John Ford movie, you get a sense of what the earth is made of. Watching YOUNG MR. LINCOLN, you get a sense of the legends America is made of. YOUNG MR. LINCOLN is pure American legend, and I mean that as a big compliment.
Henry Fonda is astounding as Honest Abe, portraying him as a salt-of-the-earth fellow who is sincere and charismatic, and uses his best traits to find justice in a strange trial in small town in his early days as a lawyer.
The account is fiction, but Ford makes it American myth. Every shot in the movie is impeccably composed, Ford's love of Americana in art permeates every frame. I'm not sure how trials played out back in Lincoln's days as a lawyer, but the trial scenes don't seem authentic.
..but to criticize this movie for that is missing the point. It's a great mythological portrait of the early days of one of America's greatest presidents, one doesn't see movies with a taste like this anymore.
..the closest thing I can think of in recent memory is HBO's excellent JOHN ADAMS mini-series. I look forward to drinking up other John Ford films in the future.
This review of Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) was written by Hunter D on 03 Feb 2010.
Young Mr. Lincoln has generally received very positive reviews.
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