The movie examines Abraham Lincoln's (Daniel Day-Lewis) efforts to pass the 13th Amendment in the last few months of his life. It is a detailed account of his strategy and the negotiations of the members of his cabinet, especially his Secretary of State, William Seward (David Strathairn).
The story deals with the minute details involved in making slavery illegal; conversations between pompous politicians are endless and dry and I found it boring. I would have preferred a biography of Lincoln's life; the nonstop speechifying was tedious in the extreme. None of the dialogue sounded spontaneous; each line sounded well-rehearsed with the result that it looks like a filmed play.
Day-Lewis certainly looks the part, but his Lincoln isn't very interesting or charismatic. His soft, high voice is particularly unengaging. I expected his voice to sound like Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch.
For me, the movie was too long and a crashing bore.
The story deals with the minute details involved in making slavery illegal; conversations between pompous politicians are endless and dry and I found it boring. I would have preferred a biography of Lincoln's life; the nonstop speechifying was tedious in the extreme. None of the dialogue sounded spontaneous; each line sounded well-rehearsed with the result that it looks like a filmed play.
Day-Lewis certainly looks the part, but his Lincoln isn't very interesting or charismatic. His soft, high voice is particularly unengaging. I expected his voice to sound like Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch.
For me, the movie was too long and a crashing bore.