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Oh, I agree! We saw it this afternoon and found it sublime. Betcha it will sweep the Oscars...Daniel Day-Lewis turned in an amazing performance--all the actors did! Kept up the dramatic tension all the way through. Spielberg's 12 years of research was apparent...I felt I was in a time machine during those Lincoln years. Not a Hollywood movie at all, so finely wrought. A big double-thumbs up from the Dolphin.
I thought it was okay. I'm not a big fan of exposition and "speechifying" on the big screen, but it's unrealistic not to expect a fair dose of that in a movie about Abraham Lincoln, and the speeches for the most part were good. The movie is good to the extent that it shows (not sure how accurately) some of the backdoor maneuvering to ensure the passage of the 13th Amendment. I was hoping, however, that we would get a richer portrait of Lincoln the Man. The movie's focus was largely on the political, which is not a bad thing per se, but I felt a bit more exploration into Lincoln's life would have made for a much more compelling story.
I thought it was okay. I'm not a big fan of exposition and "speechifying" on the big screen, but it's unrealistic not to expect a fair dose of that in a movie about Abraham Lincoln, and the speeches for the most part were good. The movie is good to the extent that it shows (not sure how accurately) some of the backdoor maneuvering to ensure the passage of the 13th Amendment. I was hoping, however, that we would get a richer portrait of Lincoln the Man. The movie's focus was largely on the political, which is not a bad thing per se, but I felt a bit more exploration into Lincoln's life would have made for a much more compelling story.
Interesting...funny how we all like and expect different things. I appreciate your point of view, yet what I most liked was the humanizing of Lincoln the Man--a behind the scenes look at his family life, his torture over the war, his grief (and Mrs. Lincoln's) at losing his/her son, and the extreme maneuvering to get that amendment passed. I was left with such deep, abiding respect for the man and the huge burden he carried, both politically, and domestically...he does, indeed, "Belong to the Ages."
Lincoln's folksy storytelling was fun...both the humor, the wit and the frequent eye-rolling of his listeners...it brought relief to the dramatic tension of the film, I thought...
I only wish it was more biographical. I feel like I didn't really learn much about Lincoln himself throughout the movie. I'm basicallyyy an expert on the 13th Amendment, though
Interesting...funny how we all like and expect different things. I appreciate your point of view, yet what I most liked was the humanizing of Lincoln the Man--a behind the scenes look at his family life, his torture over the war, his grief (and Mrs. Lincoln's) at losing his/her son, and the extreme maneuvering to get that amendment passed. I was left with such deep, abiding respect for the man and the huge burden he carried, both politically, and domestically...he does, indeed, "Belong to the Ages."
Lincoln's folksy storytelling was fun...both the humor, the wit and the frequent eye-rolling of his listeners...it brought relief to the dramatic tension of the film, I thought...
I liked that part of the movie as well. I never said I didn't enjoy the movie. I just think it's a bit overrated.
I felt like the personal details of his life were shoehorned into the script. Exposition rarely warms the heart like seeing images with your own eyes. And the speechmaking got a little corny at times. How many scenes were there with French horns in the background as Lincoln revs up for yet another round of magnificent oratory? I thought Spielberg did more to mythologize Lincoln on screen than he did to portray him as a real human being.
I also thought some of the humor was slapstick (the two guys running to the fiddle music or the guy kicking leaves on the Congressman) and unneccesarily injected into the movie. I guess I just don't take well to that type of thing in what I think should be "serious" movies.
Again, I appreciated the peak into Congressional backdoor dealings (even if the reality is far messier than Spielberg portrayed). But I still wasn't impressed by this film. I think it's success is largely owing to the fact that substantive movies with high quality writing and cinematography are so extremely rare today. I considered the King's Speech to be classic upon the first viewing but I feel quite differently about this movie. I'm sure others will disagree.
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Just saw today
