THE BETTER ANGELS
US, 2014, 85 minutes, Black and white.
Jason Clarke, Diane Kruger, Brit Marling, Wes Bentley, Robert Vincent Smith.
Directed by A.J. Edwards.
Most definitely, an arthouse film release.
The writer-director, A.J.Edwards worked as an editor on some of the films by Terence Mallick. Obviously he found those films congenial with their strong visuals while not caring so much about plot development. This is particularly the case here, a story of Abraham Lincoln when he was a teenager, back in Indiana, working hard and living in a log cabin.
The angels of the title are Lincoln’s birthmother and his stepmother, both having a strong influence on him in the film suggesting ways in which his character was developed by each of the women. His birthmother, who died when Lincoln was nine, is played by Brit Marling, his stepmother played by Diane Kruger, a woman who helped the boy who had taught himself to read and write to find more knowledge. Both have a strong screen presence but they are presented more as icons rather than developed characters. Lincoln’s father is played by Jason Clarke, something of a rough and hard man, making demands on his son and on his wives.
There are also a number of characters throughout the town, particularly Wes Bentley as a teacher. This Illinois community is quite small, isolated, the children gathering for some education, some religious meetings, but most of the work is hard. It would seem very difficult to imagine that a president of the United States, let alone Abraham Lincoln, could emerge from this kind of background.
One suggestion about his future is a sequence where a group of slaves, chained, marched through this isolated community.
Filmed in black and white, with artful angles on people, on the many trees, on the huts and buildings, the film is often quite beautiful to look at.
Which means that the film is something of an essay on Lincoln’s youth, a poetic portrait of a place and people, but not a narrative that audiences might be looking for.
1. A first film, the director’s work with editing Terence Mallick’s films?
2. The black and white photography, the beauty, the scenes of nature, people, the isolation in Indiana, the period?
3. The musical score, Dvorak, the other classics, the 19th-century music?
4. The sources for the screenplay, the history of Abraham Lincoln, the documents from the period?
5. The title, the reference to his mother, to his stepmother, the strong influence on him as a person, and as president?
6. The style of the dialogue, the 19th-century, mannered? The voice-over? The tone? Information given? The meditative tone?
7. Indianapolis, 1817, Abraham Lincoln and his teenage, his bond with his mother? The significance of his father, always present, hard work, his leaving for periods? The isolation? The log-cabin, work in the fields, general hard work, the community?
8. The focus on Lincoln, his age, appearance, relationships, his behaviour? The screenplay presenting him as not so active but as influenced by his father and the two women?
9. The strong father, his work, demands, the rugged life, at home, his absences, advice to his son, shaping him, expectations?
10. Lincoln’s mother, the bond, her life, love, the hard work, the influence, her death?
11. Sarah Lincoln, the stepmother, Lincoln and his age, her care, managing the house, giving advice, as a person and her influence?
12. The variety of people in the community, the relationship with Lincoln, the teacher and his role, the elders in the community, Reverend Elkins, the neighbours, the children and their learning?
13. The significance of the slave group coming through Indiana and Lincoln observing it?
14. The creation of a world, stylised, black and white, enabling the audience to reflect on Lincoln and the influences?
