The Better Angels

This is one of the most extraordinary films I have ever seen. I've been pondering the experience for a couple of days. I really don't know how to express what I thought and felt while watching it. I fear that whatever I say will sound plastic, and it was not plastic at all. It was real. It fell just short of being living flesh.

To start, I felt like I was really there with young Lincoln and his family. It was like visiting with them. The feeling became deeper as the film progressed.

Black and white was the perfect choice for this film. The cinematography was in a class by itself. Orson Wells did not do any better when he filmed Citizen Kane.

Many of the camera angles were new to me; and yet they were as comfortable as old shoes. The sound was just as extraordinary. The wind in the trees, the birds chirping in the fields all combined with the skilled use of the camera and drew me in.

I've seen, as far as I know, every film ever made about Lincoln. He has been one of my heroes since I was a child. But, I've never seen one that covered his early childhood in such depth. Not necessarily depth of historical detail, but depth of experience; what he lived, thought and felt as a boy.

I was surprised and pleased to see something of his early school years. And yes, they prayed in school and the teacher taught from the Bible. The one room schoolhouse was, to the best of my knowledge, accurately portrayed.

If you question the reality of Christian teaching in early American schools, I suggest you Google up a copy of the first editions of McGuffey's Readers. You'll find them to be full of Christianity. That's the first editions; 1836 - 37. Not the later editions when the "gutting" of Christian teaching and principals was already having it's effect. More's the pity.

The two women in young Lincoln's life were of course his two mothers.

To watch Lincoln's mother touch and stroke his face and tousled hair was perhaps the most heart touching portrayal of a mother's love I have ever seen in film. Words were not needed; the love in her eyes and the touch of her hand said it all. No wonder Lincoln gave her so much praise.

Following his mother's death, his step-mother eventually became just as close to him. She too, was an extraordinary woman.

I disagree with the short shrift many film critics have given to Lincoln's father. He played as large a part in shaping Lincoln's character as did his two mothers. Lincoln Sr. is well represented here; and deservedly so.

When I was a boy there was a time I would have given anything to hear my father say to me what Abe's father says to him toward the end of the film. Of course I won't give it away, but I'll tell you it's worth waiting for.

I don't know if anyone connected with the film will ever read this, but if they do, I want to express my thanks and let you know I'm grateful for for work and care you put into "The Better Angels." I can honestly say that I think I'm a bit better for having seen it.

If you have not yet see this work of love, please do. I think you'll consider it to be time very well spent.

My first opinion for this movie is that it has beautiful cinematography by having the screen move in different directions and having a variety of shots. Even though it is in black and white, I find that the movie captures the lighting and darkness really well. The sounds effects for the movie is really amplified for example the crunching of the leaves or birds chirping, likewise for the soundtrack it made the movie more calming and beautiful with the violin or piano playing. The movie didn't have a lot of dialogue beside the narrator's voice of Abraham. It didn't sound like him either since it was more southern and not as high pitched. A better representation of Abraham's voice could be Daniel Day-Lewis's in Spielberg's Lincoln (2012) which is more high-pitched. I also find that the movie also explains Abraham Lincoln's life and his relationships with his family and friends very accurately, which the movie centers more on the interactions with his mother, step mother, and father. The actor that played Abraham didn't seem to show much emotions or show any personality traits throughout the movie for example, there was a lot of scenes that just focuses on his face with no emotions. Overall, I don't usually watch a black and white movie however, I enjoyed watching this since it was entertaining and wasn't dull or tedious to watch.

In thoughtful movies that rely on dialog and story rather than CGI, sex and violence, there's an opportunity to craft meaningful character studies. The Better Angels forgoes the flash, even filming in black and white. The problem is, they didn't develop any characters. Particularly young Lincoln. Nothing happens. No one changes, except maybe Lincoln's father a little. The viewer slogs through the boredom of frontier life without any insight into young Lincoln. I don't need to see people shot, stabbed and punched. I don't need to see gratuitous sex or colorful explosions, flashy costumes or lively music. But if you're going to make a movie about an historical character, there has to be a story told that shapes the boy into a man. This movie is little more than a black and white home movie where NOTHING happens. Four stars is probably generous.

The Better Angels, a 2014 Lincoln drama directed by AJ Edwards followed Abraham Lincoln as a boy (played by Brayden Denney) and his experiences living from the land. We see Lincoln going through the trials of his youth alongside his dad, Tom Lincoln (played by Jason Clarke) and siblings. Considering how tragic Lincoln's youth was, the film did not make me feel much for any of the characters.

By the end of the movie I felt as if I could have been watching any boy from that time period. But speaking of time period, it is one thing I loved about the film. The time and place (Indiana, 1817) felt authentic and I liked that I was able to observe what life was like back then. The crude and realistic production design and the plain costume design were both fitting to the time. The black and white color palette also helped to convey the simplicity of the period.

To characterize the boy as Lincoln, there were lines about him reading books, and scenes of him wrestling, but the core of his childhood was his relationship with his mother and step-mother which I felt were underdeveloped in the film or did not feel as essential as they were in real life. I did enjoy watching the father-son relationship in the film. There was tension between the two in real life, as Tom Lincoln seemed more fond of his step son than his real son. But, as the movie went forward, there was a warm side of Tom Lincoln on display which I enjoyed. Specifically, when he tells Abraham that he'll be twice the man he was, it was heartwarming and revealed a less one sided approach to their relationship.

The cinematography was not bad by any means but I do wish that the cinematographer would have calmed down a bit. Almost every scene had continuous camera movement that didn't always seem motivated by anything and it drew attention to itself. This over complication of movement seemed to be an overcompensation for the slow pace and lack of substance throughout the film.

Overall, The Better Angels had some beautiful shots and started to peel away at Lincoln's childhood. However, it was overly pretentious and unfocused, which led to it feeling more like a seedling of a movie than the fully developed, blossomed film it could have been.

I was excited to see this movie after watching the mysterious-looking trailer, but I must say I wasn't very impressed and have a lot of mixed emotions in regard to it. The first 20-30 minutes of the film reminded me somewhat of a horror movie. The style of the production was super dark-toned and the music sounded like what you hear before something super terrible is about to happen. To make the vibe so creepy made it very uncomfortable and difficult to watch. On top of that, there isn't much dialogue. So, if you aren't familiar with Lincoln's life, you'd be lost throughout the entire film considering there are no explanations whatsoever. Abraham barely spoke, nor did he even seem to have much of a personality through the whole film, which was disappointing to watch. One thing I did enjoy and believe to be very clever was the scene of the field of cows, where one is lying dead. I thought it was a very good foreshadow for what was to come a few scenes afterwards. Also, regardless of the lack of dialogue, it is easy to tell that Abraham loved both his mothers and step-mother. That was a beautiful thing to watch unfold. The first couple of scenes feature a narrative voice which I assumed to be Abraham's. I'm still not clear on if it was his voice or his cousin's voice who we meet later on, but regardless, the voice was very inaccurate to me. It was very southern, and Abraham Lincoln's voice has never been described as southern. It is more high-pitched and Midwestern, like Daniel Day-Lewis's voice for him in Spielberg's Lincoln (2012). The word "pappy" was used to describe Thomas Lincoln a few times, and I really can't imagine Abraham calling his father that. Pappy is too endearing, and it is far too southern sounding. They did a somewhat decent job on historical accuracy. Lincoln's relationship with his dad is accurate seeing as they were never close, but it seems unhealthier than what's been depicted in other Lincoln films, like John Cromwell's Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940), where there's one scene of his father making a comment about Abraham reading. In this one, there's a scene where Thomas grabs Abraham by the collar and sort of drags him. I've also never heard anything about the Lincoln family taking in a boy to live with them, so that was odd as well. I had hopes for it seeing this considering there aren't any other films depicting Abraham Lincoln as a child the whole way through. But overall, I would not recommend someone to watch this. There are plenty of other movies on Lincoln that are much more enjoyable to watch, and a lot more can be learned from them.