Well Deserved Praise

From my favorite movies..

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Young Mr. Lincoln was not exactly what I expected from this film, but I was pleasantly surprised. I anticipated a tense, political story of Lincoln's rise to president status and his difficulties in office. But the story is much more humanistic and calm. I did not know much of anything about Lincoln's early life entering the film, and I think it did a good job of displaying his aspirations and character. It has a very good atmosphere, feels like you're back all those years ago on the 4th of July, celebrating Independence Day. Henry Ford delivers a commendable performance as Lincoln, a rather soft-spoken man who rises to meet challenges and face them head on. Without this film I think we would have had a much different view of the man, forgetting his humble beginnings as a lawyer who eventually changed our country forever.

This film isn't the most exciting, it's a nice story about one of the most beloved US presidents. I've seen a few films about Lincoln and this wasn't the best but it was good. It's similar, in the story and how it's told, to other southern films of the time. I know watching a film that is almost 80 years old, some things are going to be cheesy, but some of the sayings in this film are ridiculous. For example; when the men of the town are trying to break down the door to the jail and Lincoln stands up and gets them to disperse he says things like "come up here and wet your horns". It's these idioms that add to the "cheesiness", but by no means does it take away from the performance by Henry Fonda

Young Mr. Lincoln may have been a telling of fictitious events but with Henry Fonda playing Lincoln and John Ford directing him it felt almost like the real deal. With brilliant writing and interesting characters brought to life we are granted an inside look into a side of one of our greatest presidents that we rarely get to see. Both comedy, suspense and emotion are blended together seamlessly in this courtroom setting that really immerses you into the story and lets you view a different side of history.

Part of the "Golden-era" of the Hollywood Young Mr. Lincoln is a classic film capturing the early life of Abraham Lincoln. The film does an excellent job with it's lighting especially during the courtroom scene. The shadows playing off the walls from the outside lighting had a very real feel to it. The courtroom scene also must have inspired other cross examination scenes in future movies. I couldn't help but compare the witty exchanges to that of A Few Good Men years and years later. John Ford continued to use his strong male leads in this movie