Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided

Following the death of her 18-year-old son Tad in 1871, Mary Todd Lincoln's mind, not the most even-tempered to begin with, finally snapped. Understandably so: three of the four sons she had borne were dead, along with her husband, who was struck down by an assassin's bullet on April 14, 1865, a mere five days after the conclusion of the most divisive war in the history of the United States. Filmmaker David Grubin's Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided, following on the heels of his most recent success Napoleon (VL-1/01), offers an absorbing, intimate chronicle of the early lives of the backwoods, self-taught, homely Abe Lincoln, and Mary Todd, a socially prominent, well-educated, pleasant looking Southern beau. Married November 4, 1842, in Springfield, Illinois, the Lincolns would eventually--and, in many respects, improbably--end up in the White House in 1861. Setting the tragic tone for Lincoln's brief but memorable final years, the vote for secession by several Southern states would come a mere 45 days after his election, putting the new President and the country on a seemingly irrevocable course towards Civil War. While A House Divided's epic 6-hour length spends a considerable amount of time tracing the development and course of that war and, in particular, Lincoln's evolving attitude towards slavery--from an initial hold-the-line stance to outright abolishment--the real strength of the film lies in its behind-the-scenes look at the smaller house divided. For each glimpse of the President frustrated by a series of indecisive and inept Union generals, or of Mary making the rounds visiting wounded soldiers, we see Abraham Lincoln amused by his kids interrupting a Cabinet Meeting with their playful antics, or Mary's tortured worries that her enormous shopping debts would come to her husband's attention. Featuring the voices of David Morse and Holly Hunter as the Lincolns, characteristically masterful narration by David McCullough, and scholarly commentary from, among others, the twinkling-eyed David Herbert Donald and the engaging Doris Kearns Goodwin, this excellent entry in the American Experience series is a highly recommended complement to earlier works such as PBS's Lincoln (VL-3/93). Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)