A few people have asked me if I have seen the new Lincoln
movie and I finally got my chance the other day. I’ve yet to read Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals upon which the script was
based, but I found the entire film fairly true to what is generally known about
Lincoln’s political side. Lincoln is
neither portrayed as cynic nor saint, but rather as a man that does have a
sense of the time in which he lives and the ‘art of the possible’ in
politics. The plot centers around the
introduction of the 13th Amendment (outlawing forever slavery) prior
to the end of the Civil War during the lame duck session of Congress between
election day and inauguration day (which used to be in March prior to FDR). Lincoln realizes the Civil War is winding
down and knows that if the South surrenders, what was allowed under the
President’s war powers (in this case the Emancipation Proclamation) may not
stand with any legal force in the peace, and therefore he presses for
constitutional change. How Lincoln gets
there with the political machinery of his time (much of which is still in use
today) and the attitudes about Abolition and retaining slavery are done with
great historic authenticity. Having read
and looked at many books and pictures about the Lincoln presidency, I was
greatly impressed at the re-creation of several photographic scenes in the movie. The meticulousness (if that is an allowable
word) of the set, costumes, hair, and manners were such that I felt I was
really watching Lincoln at work with his staff and cabinet. All in all, I loved the film and would
recommend it. It does contain some
well-placed profanity (probably what most of us would say if in the same situation)
and some very graphic violence in the form of Civil War reenactment and so bear that in mind if you are sensitive
to such things. The only historic
question I have is why the exterior of the Capitol Rotunda was portrayed as
blue in the film. Was it originally blue
and then painted white later? If anyone
knows the answer please drop me a line.
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