The Better Angels (2014)

Visually beautiful but generally quite boring film about a young Abraham Lincoln, from about ages 8 to 12 or so. Nice deep focus black and white cinematography, lovely wooded setting, one gets a sense of both the simplicity and the monotony that must have defined Lincolns boyhood years, and you can understand why a smarter then average boy would have been so driven to leave that world behind, he really came from nothing. If your curious about seeing it you might just want to view the last half hour or so, there's some good moments there, especially after young Abe finally gets to go to school. Brit Marling and Diane Kruger both good as Abraham's angel mother and step mother respectively. Jason Clarke nicely underplays Lincolns distant father, and Wes Bentley is intriguing as his teacher. This movie struck me as perhaps more suited to run in a continues loop at an art museum then something to sit down and watch on your couch. It wants so badly to be a Terrence Malick film. **