Lincoln

Lincoln reminded me a lot of There Will Be Blood -- a phenomenal performance in an otherwise average film. Actually, the acting all-around (Sally Field, David Straithairn, James Spader, et al) was all very well-done.

The movie, like, it seems, every movie I see these days, is too long. Every scene with Mary Lincoln involving their dead eldest son or their still living oldest son (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), could have been cut without sacrificing anything. Pretty much every scene with JGL's Robert/"Bob" Lincoln could have been cut without sacrificing the story. There were so many characters who just popped up for brief cameos and were barely seen again (as it involves many one-off conversations with a multitude of congressmen), that I thought many of them could have been cut, as well. I would also cut everything that happens after Lincoln gets dressed for the Ford Theater and walks away down the hallway. We KNOW what happens there, and the scenes of grief that are shown afterward, plus Lincoln's earlier speech, just feel maudlin in comparison with leaving us on the melancholy "high" note of him winning the war, getting his amendment, and heading out to be with his wife, knowing what is to happen there.

Another thing that bothered me, besides too many characters and a lengthy running time, is the glossing over of how important free blacks were to keeping Lincoln on task for this project, as well as for helping him to get the word out and changing congressmen's minds. This movie makes it seem like Lincoln was the entire spearhead and reason for the amendment, and that only the white men in the story were critical to its success, which we know from history simply isn't true. It comes off a bit like a "white man solves the black man's problems" movie -- again. Actually, when will Hollywood stop rewriting history so overtly to make it seem like every other race is absolutely useless and reliant on white men to save them?

Now, none of these quibbles is to say this is not one of the best movies of the year with some of the best performances of the year. I will be shocked if DDL doesn't win another Oscar for this performance (I certainly haven't seen anything that stands up as a contender to it this year). Sally Field will likely be nominated. Tommy Lee Jones may get a support nod. The cinematography and score are both top-notch, and Spielberg will probably get a nod for director (although I don't think the direction is really anything special). But the movie has its flaws, and is not as powerful or as purpose-built as it could be or should be.

In the end, this is a very good film, and one of the best of this year. See it for the performances. But the movie is too long, has too many characters to keep track of, and takes a few too many detours while telling this compelling story. I rate this a B- (it is a C- movie with A performances, so I "averaged" it to a B-).