Lincoln, a Movie Review by Michael L. Johnson

Film Information

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443272/

Lincoln, a Movie Review by Michael L. Johnson

Steven Spielberg's name on a movie project carries a certain gravitas and the expectation of high-level film-making. Spielberg is an amazing director. That's no secret. The buzz about his latest directorial effort, Lincoln, is also no secret. It has been going around for months. As a black film reviewer, this biographical movie of “the great emancipator,” has greatly interested me. I couldn't wait to see it. In the area of of master film-making, Spielberg didn't disappoint. Lincoln ranks among his best works. The film follows four months of the great President’s life during the Civil War, the worst war in our country's history. Lincoln is also very much about the dirty business of 19th century congressional politics, with regard to events leading up to the passage of the 13th Amendment (which outlawed slavery, on paper, in America). Lincoln is an Oscar worthy film, to be sure.

My journey to see the movie was a quest. I rolled up to the AMC Columbia 14 with my Raisinets money ready, but no luck. It was sold out there. However, thanks to the power of a Smartphone, and a championship desire to both see this picture and get my popcorn tubbing on, I finally found success. I was able to cop a ticket just down the street, at the UA Snowden Square Stadium 14 (which is actually a lot cheaper than AMC and strategically located not from from Boston Market,as I may have mentioned in an previous review). Anyway, cool. God bless my phone, fast cars and matinée prices.

The Damn Good: Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln, Sally Fields as Mary Todd Lincoln, Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens, and the almost extra terrestrial excellence of Spielberg in the role of director. Phenomenal performances. Gloria Reuben, best known for her role as “Jeanie Boulet” on the popular medical drama ER, is as outstanding, beautiful and charismatic as ever. What is also good is that Lincoln is less about “Saint Lincoln,” than the man, the husband, the father, the human being. He is not a vampire killer who walks on water with superhuman hand/eye coordination (unlike some other flicks I won't mention). He is only a man: a gangly, walking contradiction, although one of great brilliance, eloquence, and vision. Spielberg captures Lincoln's strength, juxtaposing it with his wry, disarming, humor as only Spielberg can. That was refreshing to see.

The portrait of Lincoln's family dynamics, particularly his relationship with his wife, Mary Todd “Molly” Lincoln is equally moving. The inequality of women is yet another theme that runs the course of the film. People (politicians) who often see themselves as great champions of equality are often blind the equality of others. This contradiction comes through very clearly in Lincoln. President Lincoln was not deeply and ethically attached to abolishment of slavery because slavery was wrong. However, as a result of his efforts to save the Union, the legal dismantling of slavery is permanently attached to him. That statue-sized historic contradiction greatly impacted Lincoln's life—and, sadly, got him killed. It is as real as the benefit of emancipation on black people in America. For the most part, Spielberg doesn't downplay either reality.

Certainly, the movie doesn’t sugar-coat the racism rampant in Congress, in the context of the debate about ending slavery. That was refreshing to see. Then as now, the process of getting bills passed in Congress that help poor folks in general, and people of color specially, is a dirty business of political battle. The historic “dirt” associated with the passage of the 13th Amendment isn't scrubbed from this biopic to make it more palatable for audiences. I dug that. Great art is as messy, disturbing and complicated as are great heroes. Lincoln highlights the slavery ending work of many flawed heroes and heroines. It accomplishes this as it makes the point that one person's vote, or ethical standard, can change history. In light of the historic re-election of America's first black president, this point is especially poignant.

One of my favourite scenes in the movie is when President Lincoln is talking with Union Troops (black and white) from a rail-road platform and the troops start to recite the Gettysburg Address. This freedom fighting affirmation is moving. It resonates with hope, much as Spielberg's film does, because it reminds us of the costs, power, and rewards resident in fighting for what is right in the world. Indeed, it serves as inspiration in the ongoing battle against racism and injustice in America.

The Bad: Steven Spielberg had to know that a ton of black folks would be giving his Lincoln biopic a very close look to see if he portrays him as he was or some Jesus-like slavery abolitionist. President Lincoln was a great politician, but an ambivalent emancipator, at best. In a letter he wrote to Horace Greely in 1862, he writes, “If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it...”1 Greely was an American newspaper editor, a founder of the Liberal Republican Party, a reformer, a politician, and an actual outspoken opponent of slavery. Although the Lincoln film does address his lack of deep conviction against the evil of slavery, the tone of Spielberg's portrayal of him, certainly suggests that he possessed such convictions, smouldering in his core (maybe under his top hat). He is lit in the film to look heavenly. And one character in the movie refers to him as “the purest man in America.” I'm not sure how anyone who is of two minds on the subject of slavery could be considered “pure.” That seems to me to be an irritation on the skin of history.

Another historical irritation with Lincoln has to do with Frederick Douglass' absence in the story. One of the most important friendships that developed during the Civil War was the one between President Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.2 Douglass (abolitionist, orator, scholar, and former slave) was a definitely on the scene and a frequent visitor to the Lincoln's White House. His absence in the movie is curious.

The Most Important Question: Was it a Good Movie?

It is a great film. In fact, on the Oscar tip, my prediction is this: Daniel Day-Lewis (best actor); Sally Fields (best actress), Tommy Lee Jones (best supporting actor); Steven Spielberg (best director); and of course, Lincoln (best film). If I were a betting man, I could win some money. Although, I would probably just settle for some extremely good popcorn. On a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is best and blessed, 4.8. Absolutely.

1 "Abraham Lincoln to Horace Greeley, Friday, August 22, 1862" (Clipping from Aug. 23, 1862 New York Tribune).
http://condor.depaul.edu/tps/Abraham_Lincoln_an_Abolitionist_Abraham_Lincoln_Horace%20Greeley_1862.htm

2 "Mr. Lincoln's White House." http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/inside.asp?ID=38&subjectID=2

-MLJ