Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Lincoln

Daniel Day Lewis channels Lincoln in the time leading up to the end of the Civil War and to his inevitable end. Speilberg directs and finally doesn't screw it up with some ridiculous plot twist because he CAN'T- heh, we all know where this story is headed. If you've read some Lincoln biographies, you know a lot about Lincoln. Of course, you might not know that Lincoln really loved a different woman and settled for crazy Mary Todd, or that Lincoln was severely depressed and struggled to stay mentally afloat. Not much is mentioned about Lincoln initially supporting only the end of slavery in new states- but I digress. Fact is, Lincoln did his best. Had he not succeeded in keeping the union together, well, who knows. The fact that he (well not HIM exactly) went on to fight a war that killed 62,000- that must have weighed heavily on his shoulders- and it should have.  The north benefitted mightily from slavery while pretending not to notice where their food and cotton came from. I digress again.  Certainly, the viewer will learn that Congress has always been composed of verbose and insulting people. Why stop it now? See it- of course. But you shouldn't let Hollywood tell you a story you should all ready know.