When it's over, Daniel Day-Lewis was brilliant. I completely bought his performance. The costumes and set designs whisked me into the world of southern belles, slavery, and northern industrialism. All these elements made Lincoln a film worth viewing, but viewed only once. I would not sit through another 150 minutes of drawn out scenes filled with political banter. Clearly, the film's title was misleading. This was not a film about Abraham Lincoln, but about a specific time during his presidency, notably The Emancipation Proclamation and the passing of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. The film chronicled the few months leading up to Lincoln's assassination, and his uphill struggle to get the amendment passed. I was disappointed that Director Steven Spielberg spent no time showing Lincoln's past (poverty, childhood, his difficulties in school), because who he was as a president stemmed greatly from his upbringing and his struggles prior to his presidency. I knew enough about Lincoln's life to understand his conviction to end slavery and his devotion to “the people,” but even my extended knowledge did little to draw me into the story. I can only imagine how indifferent a viewer may have felt having gone into this film without any prior knowledge of Lincoln's life. This was one film where back story was crucial and completely missing. Pity...a great director directing a great actor about one of the greatest men in history equaled a not-so-great film.
My rating: 2.5 out of 5
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