Ditto. In lieu of that, I've been watching the hoary old miniseries North & South (eh, better than I remembered) in which weirdly enough, Hal Holbrook played Lincoln! Just saw the movie, we can't let this thread sink...
Terrific movie. One of the best I've seen all year. For what it's worth, in response to the OT--not being American, or particularly familiar with American history, I had never even heard of Thaddeus Stevens before I saw this movie. I came away from it full of admiration for the man--or at least, the character--both for his egalitarian principles, and his willingness to make a tactical retreat to secure a great strategic victory. "There is nothing I will not say" was the most memorable line in the movie. (Assuming that I'm remembering it correctly ) And the final scene, in bed with his partner, reading the amendment, was a nice little humanizing touch. If it isn't true, it should be. Like some other people, I thought the movie lost a bit of focus right at the end, and that the assassination scenes were superfluous. But it wasn't a serious flaw--just an imperfection.
I guarantee most Americans had not heard of Thaddeus Stevens either. I expected some mention in the movie of the assassination attempt on Seward being part of the Lincoln plot since he was such a major character, but I guess they had enough on their plate. The movie is doing good in the latest awards nominations that may be a sign of things to come.
Sally Field is the female lead, not a supporting actress, I think. And Doris Kearns Goodwin reportedly spent 5 to 9 pages on the 13th Amendment, which makes Tony Kushner's script, not less marvelous. but a terrible adaptation of Team of Rivals. Also I didn't hear that much John Williams, so it's a little mystifying that he was nominated when his score didn't carry half the movie. (Which, let's face it, is half the reason you hire John Williams to score.) I could watch Argo, but I didn't believe that movie as I watched it. And Skyfall is just mediocre by any standard so far as I'm concerned.
Watched the film last night; quite good but not near classic (but not because of too much politics). Day-Lewis was great and Field and Jones very good (especially since better than I expected). I didn't recognize Spader (but occasionally found his character annoying). Frederick Douglass could and should have played a role. Having read the book, Mary directly telling Stevens Lincoln will always be more popular than him and Abraham trying to discourage his son from enlisting (especially to the extent he did) weren't included and here felt inauthentic. I think the Constitution was ambiguous on the legality of secession and while the South initiated combat, drafting people into combat was immoral (and here certainly glossed over).