Honest Abe Strikes Again in Movie

Faith Schweikert, Managing Editor

The same story of the emancipation of slaves taught in history class across the world has been taken out of the textbook and onto the big screen. Unfortunately, that’s all it seems to be, a reading out of a textbook. Considering the majority of the film, “Lincoln” is simply dialogue and copious information.

What makes a Hollywood history film different from a History Channel documentary is supposed to be the inclusion of a climax. Well, keep waiting for it’s not coming.

At first, so aesthetically pleasing, the general audience can barely focus on what is going on as they stare in awe at the accuracy of both the people in the film and the set in which they are placed. Filming in Virginia, Maryland and Kentucky provided the filmmakers with the exact locations in which the original events occurred thus increasing their historical credibility.

There is something to be said for the actors in the film. Daniel Day-Lewis portrays the former president right down to his facial structure and distinctive gait, perfectly. Sally Fields, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and David Strathairn also complement him nicely adding emotion and drama to a relatively bland storyline.

It is the fault of the screenwriter, Tony Kushner, not the actors or even the amazing director, Steven Speilberg which makes “Lincoln” worthy of passing. It is set in the middle of the Civil War and instead of highlighting such dramatic events, the scenes left the general audience not in appreciation of the cinematography but in wonder of when they will be finished. Make-up and set crew deserve awards but little more can be said for such an overall disappointing film.