This film started out on the battlefield filled with fresh dead corpses and bleeding soldiers. However, it didn't take long for the movie to dive in and begin introducing the lives of the characters and the high society they live in. About twenty minutes into the film, if not sooner, we see the Lincoln assassination conspiracy unfold and soon after most of the conspirators captured in a rapid succession of scenes. Once this is done, the movie then settles into a very steady pace that is consistent throughout the rest of the movie.
Now that we have the intro done let's talk about what I thought were the positives of the movie. The first and strongest aspect of this film is the acting. The cast in this movie were professionals and filled their roles to the letter. The cast was completely believable, and do a good job sucking the audience into the civil war era. The passion and emotion are captures brilliantly, and there are plenty of times where you feel as if you are part of the movie. Unlike other films I have recently seen, I felt there was no overacting in this film and felt as if I were again watching a movie and not a soap opera. A second positive aspect was the well written dialogue that this movie had. Instead of being filled with cheesy one liners, sleazy innuendos, and choppy sentences, this movie was filled with a wonderful variety of lines that continued to paint the setting of this movie. The dialogue was further supported by the wide variety of characters this movie had to offer. There were corrupt politicians, comedy relief generals, worried girlfriends and family members, and lawyers of intense justice. These cast of characters kept the movie interesting and added a variety of view points on a common issue. Finally I would say that the camera work is done well. Many scenes are shot from a variety of angles, many capturing the scenes perfectly and adding even more emotional debt to the fray. Combine this with the music, and you get even more emotional sentiment from this movie.
Okay the bad parts of this movie. The first is that I found some of this movie to be slow, which had me dozing off. There were many times that I was ready for the scene to get moving and return to the case at hand. I understand that character development is important, but make sure to keep it moving and not dawdle on one scene at a time. Next the filter they used on the camera had a grey aspect to it, which again added to the movie feeling slow and boring. A third weakness could be the ending of the movie, which I don't want to reveal as it spoils about two thirds of the movie if I do. However, some of you may be okay with it and some may be really upset by it. I will let you be the judge. If the camera work and slowness are something you are not bothered by however, then you should be just fine with how this movie plays out.
To wrap up this review, again I did find this movie enjoyable, but at some points did find it slow. The character development, acting, and dialog capture you into the film and setting of post civil war, which was a big selling point for this movie. My recommendation for audience members who will like this are fans of the law part of law and order, those who like historical based movies, and those that are fans of political movies. One last thing I care to mention is that history buffs may not like this movie depending on the accuracy of this story. I have no idea how historically accurate this movie is, but those that know there history could pick out a lot of flaws. So until next time this is rgkarim signing out. Please let me know how I can improve my writing by writing to rgkarim@mail.roanoke.edu
Now that we have the intro done let's talk about what I thought were the positives of the movie. The first and strongest aspect of this film is the acting. The cast in this movie were professionals and filled their roles to the letter. The cast was completely believable, and do a good job sucking the audience into the civil war era. The passion and emotion are captures brilliantly, and there are plenty of times where you feel as if you are part of the movie. Unlike other films I have recently seen, I felt there was no overacting in this film and felt as if I were again watching a movie and not a soap opera. A second positive aspect was the well written dialogue that this movie had. Instead of being filled with cheesy one liners, sleazy innuendos, and choppy sentences, this movie was filled with a wonderful variety of lines that continued to paint the setting of this movie. The dialogue was further supported by the wide variety of characters this movie had to offer. There were corrupt politicians, comedy relief generals, worried girlfriends and family members, and lawyers of intense justice. These cast of characters kept the movie interesting and added a variety of view points on a common issue. Finally I would say that the camera work is done well. Many scenes are shot from a variety of angles, many capturing the scenes perfectly and adding even more emotional debt to the fray. Combine this with the music, and you get even more emotional sentiment from this movie.
Okay the bad parts of this movie. The first is that I found some of this movie to be slow, which had me dozing off. There were many times that I was ready for the scene to get moving and return to the case at hand. I understand that character development is important, but make sure to keep it moving and not dawdle on one scene at a time. Next the filter they used on the camera had a grey aspect to it, which again added to the movie feeling slow and boring. A third weakness could be the ending of the movie, which I don't want to reveal as it spoils about two thirds of the movie if I do. However, some of you may be okay with it and some may be really upset by it. I will let you be the judge. If the camera work and slowness are something you are not bothered by however, then you should be just fine with how this movie plays out.
To wrap up this review, again I did find this movie enjoyable, but at some points did find it slow. The character development, acting, and dialog capture you into the film and setting of post civil war, which was a big selling point for this movie. My recommendation for audience members who will like this are fans of the law part of law and order, those who like historical based movies, and those that are fans of political movies. One last thing I care to mention is that history buffs may not like this movie depending on the accuracy of this story. I have no idea how historically accurate this movie is, but those that know there history could pick out a lot of flaws. So until next time this is rgkarim signing out. Please let me know how I can improve my writing by writing to rgkarim@mail.roanoke.edu