Killing Lincoln

Killing Lincoln educates its audience with the history of Lincoln's assassination without exaggerating or dramatizing any aspects of the tragedy. Tom Hanks narrates the film, which tended to make it a bit boring at times, but it was also necessary to inform the viewer with as much history as possible. The movie also introduced some details of the situation that I wasn't familiar with beforehand. For instance, when I think of John Wilkes Booth, I immediately associate him with Lincoln's death. However, the movie revolves around Booth and his acting career, which gave me a better idea of Booth's identity. I was also interested by the scene where Lincoln told the freed slave, "You are a free citizen; kneel to no one but God." It showed Lincoln's true character and emphasized his humility. Although historical dramas don't usually interest me, I enjoyed watching Killing Lincoln.

Based on Bill O'Reilly's book of the same name, this is a documentary of Abraham Lincoln (Billy Campbell) and John Wilkes Booth (Jesse Johnson) as they head into the history books. Coming so close to Daniel Day-Lewis' amazing performance, Billy Campbell is unable to measure up. Booth is suppose to be a great actor. I wish they got somebody more well known than Jesse Johnson. He does a capable job but he needs a more powerful presence. The surprise comes from Tom Hanks' narration. When it first starts, I thought it was a grave mistake. After some time, his narration grows on me. And I really like the constant repetition of "Lincoln has ______ to live". It's a great way to build tension as the clock counts down. The production is good for a TV movie. I can't really vouch for its academic accuracy. I do wish for more on Booth. Lincoln's story could be trimmed but there is a good sequence of him visiting Richmond after its fall. It's a good watch.

If you watch this movie, you will know the facts of the events leading to, the events of, and the results of Abraham Lincoln's assassination. This is most excellently performed.

The actors who portrayed both Lincoln (Billy Campbell) & Booth (Jesse Johnson) performed A plus roles. Both actors conveyed the feel of the age and the personality of both historical persons as history has made them known to us. Excellent. Johnson for sure deserves an award. Watching his performance, you will feel that you know Booth.

If you are at all interesting in these events, watch this movie. You will be well educated, informed, and entertained. In this modern day, such a combination is rare, indeed.

In the highest minded rationale, this is as good an expression of the TV art as there can be.

The tragedy of President Abraham Lincoln's death is narrated in this film by Tom Hanks. I found Hanks to be an appropriate narrator, as he has a powerful voice and was confident in himself, making the movie easier to watch. However, I did not particularly like the actor for Booth. You could tell that he was acting, it wasn't a convincing performance. Regardless, the historical facts are all highly accurate, with little to no aspects of the film exaggerated. I would suggest this movie to anyone interested in learning more about the presidents death, as you are walked through the events, and can rely on the accuracy of the facts. Moreover, I was a fan of the fact that periodically throughout the movie, the number of days Lincoln had left to live were announced. A fact that I was unaware of prior to watching the film was that Lincoln had a dream a few days before his assassination, of his own death.

KILLING LINCOLN may be worth seeing for anyone with an interest in the basic subject matter, but, aside from a few disputed factoids and other interesting tidbits, one is not likely to learn much or see any really new perspective here. The more interesting stuff--earlier plots to kill Lincoln, etc--is not covered in much detail, and the events leading up to the assassination are not synchronized terribly well. The combination of drama and documentary doesn't work too well either, with Tom Hanks constantly interrupting the forward motion of the film. Some of the supporting actors--e.g., whoever it was that played the young naval officer--play their roles very well; unfortunately, same cannot be said for most of the major actors here. Booth, played by Jesse Johnson, is portrayed as an annoyingly histrionic phony in love with the sound of his own voice. From what I understand, that's kind of how the real JWB was, but it would have helped if less time had been devoted to that twit and more to his co-conspirators, who we are told little or nothing about.

There's just something very contrived about the whole thing. . .