Title: Lincoln
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Distributed by: Touchstone / Dreamworks
Release Date: November 9, 2012 (Limited), December 16 (Wide)
Rated: PG-13
Synopsis: As the Civil War continues to rage, America’s president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield and as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves. (Via IMDB)
Brian: A new Steven Spielberg film is always an event for me. Ever since I saw Jurassic Park in the theater at age 9 with my dad, I’ve been in love with this man’s work. Over the years I discovered the great Jaws and Close Encounters and Raiders, but I also embraced his lesser known efforts like Duel and Empire of the Sun. As much as I love the man, however, I have to admit that he’s not the kind of director who scores a bulls-eye every single time. In fact, when looking at his work released in the last ten years, I haven’t loved a single one of his movies. The last film Spielberg made I unequivocally loved was Saving Private Ryan, released in 1998. Ever since he has put out interesting work, movies with moments of greatness, but nothing that I’ve jumped up and down over. Minority Report is terrific until its bloated finale; Munich has scenes of power but never came together for me as a solid whole. Last year was rough in that he released two disappointing movies in the same week—The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse. Would his newest film Lincoln finally bring the aging director back to greatness? I had great hopes. He couldn’t have assembled a more talented cast and crew, with people like Daniel Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, and Tony Kushner all on board. The film has been universally acclaimed and looks to have a solid shot at sweeping the Oscars come February. I admired the hell out of this film. I admired the performances, the production design, the costumes, the make-up. It’s an important story worth telling. But did it move me and inspire me, the way Spielberg’s three best dramas — The Color Purple, Schindler’s List, and Saving Private Ryan — did? Unfortunately, no.
Shaunta: Well, I enjoyed both Tintin and War Horse (although, War Horse could have used a more cohesive story), and I loved Lincoln. Schindler’s List was better. It would be hard to beat that film. I was at least as moved by Lincoln as I was by The Color Purple, though. For the record my very favorite Spielberg movie is E.T. I think the biggest issue Lincoln had to overcome is how visually iconic Abraham Lincoln is. Because of that, it was difficult for Daniel Day Lewis, as wonderful as he was, to turn Lincoln into a real person. Sometimes it was like the Lincoln memorial standing up and imparting wisdom. But the movie itself was beautiful. The little boy who played Tad Lincoln was incredible, Sally Field was an excellent Mary Todd Lincoln, and Tommy Lee Jones almost stole the show. One of my favorite scenes was the one where Jones’s Thaddeus Stevens is forced to state that he only believes in legal equality, not absolute equality–and then manages to turn it around on the racists he opposed. The scene where Lincoln and his little son stand at the window and hear the bells ring for freedom was also incredible.
Brian: First, what I loved. The talky proceedings throughout the movie get a much-needed boost of life from a winning Tommy Lee Jones, who blows into this movie like a gale force wind and creates a highly memorable character, one that has a heart-warming reveal at the end that marked the most unexpected moment in the movie. The minutes leading up to the reveal of the 13th amendment passing is pure Spielberg. The scene of Lincoln on the horse passing by all the fallen men is quiet and somber but oh so powerful. And I loved, loved, loved the way he handled the shooting of Lincoln, not focusing on Lincoln himself, but another member of his family. Heartbreaking. What didn’t work for me as well were the long stretches of talk, all confined in dark, claustrophobic rooms, some with never-ending speeches given by Day Lewis in which he speaks so low I would miss words and phrases. Some of the stories he told were interesting and others, not so much. I was instantly intrigued by Joseph Gordon Levitt’s character, but he disappears almost as soon as he shows up—I wanted to know more. The biggest sin this film commits, which I feel is telling about any movie I watch, is that after awhile I started paying attention more to Spielberg’s composition framing and editing rhythm than the actual story itself. Usually when I start focusing on technical aspects in a movie, I’m not as engaged in the story as I can be, and unfortunately that happened here. This film in many ways reminded me of Spielberg’s so-so Amistad, from 1997, and I don’t see why that film was pretty much passed over by critics and for awards, yet Lincoln is being considered a towering achievement. I’m not the history buff that so many are, and political history is similarly not something that I seek out, in either books or films. So I’m not the intended audience for this film, and I know that some of the reservations I have over it will work fine for a hundred others. I just ultimately wish I could have felt more in this movie. Shaunta told me she cried in a scene, but only rarely did the movie make me care for the characters on an emotional level. When Lincoln was all over, I was glad I saw it, but I felt no enthusiasm. Too bad.
Shaunta: Since I am a student American history, I was aware of Thaddeus Steven’s history, so the reveal didn’t shock me. It was touching though and another favorite moment of the movie. I wasn’t put off by the slower parts of the movie. This isn’t an action film. It’s a historical, and those speeches and the talking often gave me chills. I was enthralled all the way through. I appreciated that Spielberg didn’t frame Lincoln as perfect, which would have been so easy. It’s clear that Lincoln did not press for absolute equality for all people. One of the funniest scenes in the movie came when one of Lincoln’s cabinet asked the House if the black male vote was next, which lead to some rather raucous booing and hissing–but was completely overwhelmed by the negative reaction to the question of whether votes for women might come after that. The difference between legal equality and social equality played a big part in this film, and I really did appreciate that. This film was perfectly timed to our own recent election and points out the absurdity that we’re still, STILL talking about civil rights so many years after the Civil War. With the exception of the character of Lincoln never quite becoming more than the icon for me, I thoroughly enjoyed this film.
