re: Just saw Lincoln

So I thought the movie should've been called "Abolition" rather than "Lincoln" as Lincoln implies it's a biography. But a friend made a good point after the movie: Lincoln's whole life was building up to that moment, from the time he saw the slaves in New Orleans until the ratification of the bill. I think that's a valid point. Obviously, Lincoln even believed abolition was bigger than the Civil War. So I'm ok with that.


***SPOILERS BELOW***

My big issue was the ending. Did anyone else feel like the scene with his servant watching him walk down the hall would've been the perfect ending and Spielberg ignored it to get artsy at the end? He was on his way to Ford's Theater which everyone watching the movie was aware of without it being stated. I think stopping the movie there would've shown that Lincoln's everlasting legacy was abolition and it was much larger than the beginning and end of one man's life.

But instead we see Tad's reaction to the assassination, rather than the actual assassination, then Lincoln's proclaimed dead, then a flashback in a movie heavily structured on chronology.

The entire movie pretty much avoids Lincoln's life, and is entirely focused on the thirteenth amendment, then at the end, why is it so important to show his death?

Other than the ending, I loved the movie. Fantastic acting, story, and setting throughout. And as someone said earlier, the politicking in the movie to get the votes necessary to pass the amendment was very entertaining, as well as all of the humor from Lincoln and Stevens.