TBT: Lincoln (2012)

Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln (2012) is essentially a two-and-a-half-hour parliamentary procedure drama about the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery in the United States.

I finally got up the resolve to watch it and, I cannot tell a lie, because I was bored for most of it. Daniel Day-Lewis seemed to not so much disappear into the role of the 16th president, but disappear all together amidst the crowded congress and claustrophobic interior scenes at the White House. Always with a folksy anecdote that seemed more appropriate for the Hall of Presidents at Disneyland, Day-Lewis’ Lincoln was a snoozefest, with all the actual drama and witty repartee happening in the halls of Congress (shout out to Lee Pace as the smug-as-fuck congressman Fernando Wood, playing him as punchable as humanly possible). Tommy Lee Jones brought the pizzaz, playing snarky abolitionist congressman Thaddeus Stevens, and a shady triad of lobbyists consisting of W.N. Bilbo (James Spader), Richard Schell (Tim Blake Nelson), and Robert Latham (John Hawkes) who are sent by the Secretary of State to lobby Democratic senators to support the amendment made the dirty side of the politics appropriately entertaining, if not a sleazy.

And yet, the entire focus of the film is on Lincoln doing Lincoln things, which yes, he did with great success. But the really interesting parts of the film had almost nothing to do with him, except in a very broad sense. I hate to say it, but you could cut Lincoln entirely out of Lincoln and have a much more engaging and interesting film. Feel free to light me on fire in the comments.

But luckily, you’re not here to listen to me trash this film. You’re here to listen to me talk about the costumes, of which there are many good things to say. Costume designer and frequent Spielberg collaborator Joanna Johnston brought the clothing of Lincoln and his family, friends, and rivals to life by studying photographs and extant pieces of their real clothing. This is most obvious in the characters Mary Todd Lincoln (Sally Field). A number of Mrs. Lincoln’s gowns still exist in various museums around the US, along with a substantial number of tintypes, photographs, and portraits, so there was ample reference material for her costumes.

“[Mary Todd Lincoln] really was a great modernist and I think she was the first First Lady.” The Hollywood Reporter, “Behind the Seams with Joanna Johnston“

Mrs. Lincoln’s dressmaker and companion, Elizabeth Keckley, also has some beautiful, if not more restrained, costumes in the film.

The briefest mention should go to the costumes worn by Corporal Ira Clark (David Oyelowo) and Private Harold Green (Colman Domingo) who have two key scenes at opposite ends of the film as Black Union soldiers. Their costumes are beautifully recreated.

Anyway, that about covers everything I really have to say about this film. Great costumes, could have skipped all the scenes with Daniel Day-Lewis, the end.

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