I wasn’t going to watch it but then I read this brilliant review by Charles Rowley, and now I want to watch it. But only if it is as good as the review. I don’t want to watch a work of hagiography because that is boring.
17 responses to “Should I Watch Lincoln?”
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I thought it was absolutely lovely. Much more nuanced than most films, subtle, and not really caught up in the usual race-to-climax plot pattern. That said, I think hagiography might apply. When Lincoln’s flaws are displayed, they seem inevitably to be used to humanize and familiarize him, so that his good qualities are that much more remarkable.
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I’m sure it’s definitely watchable, given the paucity of decent movies showing in your area.
An alternative view of the film that most reviewers haven’t explored at all: http://coreyrobin.com/2012/11/25/steven-spielbergs-white-men-of-democracy/
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Yes, it’s impossible to find a movie to watch. I wanted to see Cloud Atlas but it isn’t showing. So I watched Argo. It was funny which is the best one can hope for these days.
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OK, I read the review. I normally like Corey Robin but this review is the kind of criticism I really really dislike.
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Oooh, I’d love to know why!
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Well, it’s like me complaining that the movie about the political intrigue surrounding the passing of the 13th amendment doesn’t feature women except in the role of wives, mistresses, and servants. I mean, if the black people had had a chance to participate actively in shaping legislation, there would be no need for either the amendment or the civil rights movement.
I feel like Corey Robin’s review is an equivalent of complaining that Lincoln wasn’t depicted as a total saint. Of course, it is pleasing to imagine history in this Ken Follett way where medieval folks act like today’s men and women and British countesses in 1912 give blow jobs to ambassadors in the opera house. It would be cute if history were so unproblematic and Christmassy. But it was not, no matter how much that sad realization might hurt some people’s sensitive souls.
I have more to say but I have to run to class.
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This movie is no hagiography. Nor is it really overly patriotic. It shows how politics continued through the nightmare of war. It shows the vulnerability of politicians to bribes and patriotism. It shows the tension between Lincoln and his wife.
Sometimes I do not like Spielberg’s movies. But this one is a true winner.
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Is the plot what you described in the review? If so, I’m definitely going.
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The plot is what is described in the review, but the movie keeps Lincoln at arm’s length from the worst of the bribery. It is hard to tell from the movie whether Lincoln truly didn’t want to participate in the worst of it or deliberately stayed at arm’s length to create plausible deniability.
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Be sure to let us know what you thought if you do see it
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You could have saved the man hours going into this topic by making your own mind up.
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I thought I had made up my mind but after Charles’s review I changed it. I don’t trust Spielberg a whole lot because he’s made some crappy movies. But if the film is what Charles says it is, then I’m interested.
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It is what he says. It is about politics and how legislation gets passed and this is why I was interested. I am more cavalier than Charles is about what goes on but I agree, this is the central interest of the film.
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We are planning to see it on Saturday. It is very rare that anything other than Glenn Beck and Twilight reach our theater, so we should go whenever there is anything good.
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I liked it and it was pleasant and interesting. But I experienced it as patriotic, came out singing the Battle Cry of Freedom. I am for the Union! I observed that this is the only American war I care about in a patriotic kind of way, with nationalist style feeling.
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
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