Slow-moving ‘Lincoln’ features strong acting

Great creators and great components don’t always make for a great movie.

Lincoln is a prime example of how bringing together a bunch of talented and accomplished people isn’t enough to make something for the ages. Make no mistake, Lincoln is a good movie, featuring the talents of an all-star cast, legendary playwright Tony Kushner and brilliant director Steven Spielberg.

Yet, while it’s certain to find an audience, the film lacks transcendent appeal and is by no means best picture-worthy.

Lincoln focuses on the last days of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, shortly before his assassination. It tells how Lincoln and his allies worked to get the 13th Amendment to the constitution, which outlaws slavery, passed in the United States House of Representatives.

Lincoln is as much about its titular protagonist as the people around him. The film is based on the non-fiction bestseller A Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, and the stories of cabinet members, Lincoln’s family, United States congressmen, political operatives and soldiers get as much time as that of Lincoln himself.

Acting is easily Lincoln’s strongest point, although this too has its inconsistencies. While there are no real dud performances, there is a pretty wide range of how effective they are.

David Strathairn (as Secretary of State William Seward) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (as Robert Todd Lincoln), for instance, both do a good job, although they seem to be playing themselves. Others, such as the political operatives and members of congress, fulfill niche roles quite effectively, while Sally Field is great as Mary Todd Lincoln.

Of course, what probably will draw a substantial portion of the audience to Lincoln is Daniel Day-Lewis in the titular role. He does an impressive job highlighting Lincoln’s artistic temperament, pragmatism and common touch and the result is a distinctly human individual, as relatable as he is mysterious.

Yet, a performance that nearly rivals that of Day-Lewis’ Lincoln is Tommy Lee Jones as abolitionist Congressman Thaddeus Stevens. It is in the character of Stevens where much of the film’s passion and moral fervor comes from.

While Day-Lewis’ Lincoln may be a master class in acting, it sometimes feels a bit aloof and detached. You never feel that about Jones’ Stevens, as the Texas native fuels the Pennsylvania Congressman with blood and passion.

On the writing and directing front, Lincoln benefits from the work of two titans, Spielberg and Kushner. Together they’ve created an entertaining political drama sure to please anyone with even a mild interest in the history on which it is based. Yet, the end result lacks pathos.

A lot of Lincoln feels like it would work better as a play than as a movie, and it does very little to take advantage of the cinematic form. And while Spielberg is certainly able to highlight the humanity of his characters, their relevance and importance to history isn’t given nearly enough time and weight in order for it to resonate.

To make matters worse, the film is a little slow, and those who don’t enjoy political drama may find themselves getting a bit bored.

Fundamentally, Lincoln is a good film, just not for everybody. With strong acting and some incredibly powerful scenes, it’s certainly worth the price of a ticket. But it’s also a bit of a niche movie as well, and if you don’t enjoy politics, then you probably won’t like it.

As a politics junkie, the film’s scenes of 19th century political hardball were candy to me. To less politically-minded audience members, however, they might seem like just too many old and middle-aged men talking.

In the end, I think Lincoln’s problem is it doesn’t quite know how to take its meticulously researched story and make it resonate. That’s a shame, because there is much to be learned from the time in which it is set.

Unfortunately, while Lincoln certainly engages the mind, it doesn’t do enough to stir the heart.

Posted by Bera B. Dunau on November 29, 2012. Filed under Arts and Entertainment,Movie Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry