Archives for posts with tag: Sally Field

There’s a long list of movies where Stereotypical Suburban Family suffers a tragedy, is screwed over by the justice system, decides to take the law into its own hands, and has to weigh the philosophical magnitude of the decision. The tone of the times determines the ending. “Eye for an Eye” (1996) adds to the list without adding much artistic originality. Sally Field is the hyperbolically irrational mom and Ed Harris is the rock-solid dad. Their daughter is killed by psychopath Kiefer Sutherland, whose character is incredibly well fleshed out (no pun intended). He’s really the only reason to watch.

“Lincoln” (2012) is a fascinating movie for what it is, and for what it is not. It is not a biopic of the legendary president, full of fireside reading, rail splitting and debates with Stephen A. Douglas. It is a look deep inside the Washington sausage-making process that we know as American representative democracy. Along the way, it tries to reveal who Abraham Lincoln was, both his personality and what he stood for. It does a good job of that, although I doubt his every waking moment was spent earnestly saying profound things. Maybe he was just awesome like that.