1)
As I wrote in that prior
post, the most common critique of the film, at least among scholars, has been
the absence of active African American characters and choices. While I agree
with the film’s defenders that to some degree these critics are advocating for
an entirely different film than this one, I would nonetheless agree with the
critics on this note: one of the film’s powerful and intimate moments is a
conversation between Lincoln and Elizabeth Keckley, the
former slave turned Mrs. Lincoln’s seamstress; and it would have been incredibly
easy, and entirely appropriate, for screenwriter Tony Kushner to add a sentence
or two to that conversation about Keckley’s
social activism among African Americans in Washington and beyond. Not sure
why he didn’t, and it is an unfortunate absence.
2)
On the other hand, the
conversation does exemplify what I would call the film’s best and most
historical moments—not the big details nor the sweeping monologues, important
as both are to the unfolding plot and story; but small and intimate moments in
which characters, and particularly of course Lincoln, make seemingly minor
choices or decisions that have significant impacts on their lives and our
shared histories. While there are of course complications and downsides to the “Great Man” theory of
history, it’s nonetheless true that a
figure like Lincoln profoundly influenced our national arc—and I think it’s
compelling and accurate to present that influence through small but potent
moments and choices.
3)
But on the other other
hand, perhaps my single favorite moment in the film is an overtly and
self-consciously big one. I won’t spoil all the details of it, but it involves
one of my American heroes and the film’s most fun and compelling character, Thaddeus Stevens (as played to
the hilt by the great
Tommy Lee Jones; minor spoilers in that clip). Yet despite the overarching
importance and themes in this moment, what makes it truly great is the way
Jones plays the gradual and yet striking and crucial evolution of Stevens’ ideas
and words in this sequence; and how, along the way, he rediscovers one of the
most central American ideals: the paramount importance of equality under the
law.
All in all, despite its inevitable limitations, I’d call it one of the best
American historical films I’ve seen. Well worth your time, and I’d love to hear
your thoughts if you have already seen it or when you do.
Next series starts tomorrow,
Ben
PS. Thoughts on the film? On other historical films?
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