For about ten years I've been showing "Lincoln and the War Within" to law students in my upper division Slavery, the Constitution and the Civil War seminar. This seventy-five minute film from an Illinois PBS affiliate follows the path of Abraham Lincoln from his election to the momentous decision to reinforce Fort Sumter and the first shots of the Civil War.
Very, very few historical fiction films are either sufficiently accurate or interesting enough for me to use in the classroom but this one is head and shoulders above most of the genre that I've seen. And it seems to be a sleeper, not having garnered even five votes here at IMDb despite being out since 1992. A shame.
The film begins with an eager Henry Seward in New York awaiting not simply nomination for the presidency from the new Republican Party but expecting an annointment. It never came and Seward accepted the post of secretary of state in the new administration which entered office at a time of unprecedented danger and turbulence. As presented here, the very smart but often acidly tongued Seward was a much needed member of Lincoln's cabinet but also a perennial thorn in the President's side.
The excellent cast (names on the IMDb page for the movie) seems to have absorbed the feeling of the heady and perilous first days of the Lincoln administration. Lincoln is calm, reflective, unwilling to be hurried along, seeking conciliation while slowly emerging as a man who will do whatever is necessary to preserve the Union. Cabinet meetings realistically reflect the views and the temperaments of the actual participants. Lincoln's dilemma and his crisis-induced rapid growth are absorbing and moving.
The progression from wooing Virginia, believed the key to stabilizing the Union without armed conflict, to resolve to face an uncertain future is very effectively portrayed. This movie's Lincoln is smart, calm and always under control.
The director, writer and cast did their homework and that resulted in an engaging and important but, apparently, widely overlooked film. "Lincoln and the War Within" in under an hour and a half has more to say about the Crisis of the Union than overblown movies like "Gettysburg" and "Gods and Generals."
10/10
