Lincoln

                 

Lincoln

     The movie “Lincoln” directed by Steven Spielberg was based on Lincoln’s presidential service but, singled out one of the most influential times of his service. The main character of this film is Abraham Lincoln the 16th President of the United States. During his presidency, Lincoln would lead the nation through the Civil War, one of the most brutal and influential wars in American history. The social and political issues that sparked this war were extremely complex, but many of the primary issues involved civil rights. One of them, the 13th amendment, was the primary focus of this movie. This amendment would break historic barriers by allowing African America men to exercise one of the primary rights in the American political system, that is the right to vote. The film Lincoln does not take the most direct path in conveying this. At times the film seems to stray to the point were the primary issue is easily forgotten. However, when the movie does come back to its primary course, it does an exceptional job of portraying the opposing views at the time. In the modern age, it can be difficult to look back on the views of the confederacy as anything more than groundless hatred. "Lincoln" stays away from this, portraying these view points as more misguided and deeply seated in a flawed culture. Tipping its hat to the inter working's of American politics, it rather accurately portrays the process that took place to pass the 13th amendment in the House so President Lincoln could sign the bill into law.

     There were times in the film that the content was quite graphic. The brutal nature of the Civil War justifies this. The critical time in which it took place made it the bloodiest war in American history. The Civil War combined a time were armed line fighting styles were met with the dawn of modern weaponry, in example repeating rifles and one of the first rapid firing weapons, the Gatling gun. This led to astronomical casualties on either side. These scenes were placed to bring the horrors of war home to the viewer. Lincoln himself used this in hopes to deter his eldest son from joining the Union Army. There is also offensive language in this film that will need to be considered for a younger audience.

Release Date: October 8, 2012

Rating: PG-13

Director: Steven Spielberg

Running Time: 150 Minutes

Film Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 90%