Movie Review

Long before television documentaries piled up like pennies on the dresser, David Herbert Donald wrote that every American generation must "get right with Lincoln." David Grubin's film for the American Experience series is the latest proof that Donald (whose mellifluous presence graces this film) was correct.	1
How is this for a story? A poor southern boy who never wanted to be anything but president gets his wish, only to find Congress, the press, and public opinion mighty hard to handle—despite his gifts for gab and for feeling his own and everybody else's pain. Aiding his rise is a smart, ambitious wife who sees herself as his equal partner and chief adviser but who is much slandered as a hellcat who meddles in official business and commits financial improprieties.	2
To read his part, cast the actor David Morse, whose hoarse tenor and intermittent drawl seem oddly familiar. For her, try the actress Holly Hunter, whose flat diction and reedy voice sound more modern woman than Victorian lady. Getting right with whom?	3
This film's strength is its dual perspective. Toggling between husband and wife, Grubin and the coauthor Geoffrey C. Ward depict his life from the cabin to the pantheon and hers from the manse to the asylum. Elizabeth Keckley, a free black seamstress and Mary Lincoln's wartime companion, has a major role.	. . .