Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)

 

John Ford’s ‘Young Mr. Lincoln’ (1939)

 

Thematic Elements: Mr. Lincoln seems to be a sneaky western genre. On the surface, it doesn’t look like a typical western. However, it displays the thematic elements of the western, a man comes into an environment of chaos and lawlessness and asserts his will to control the chaos and bring law and order. Lincoln comes from a simple life and decides to study law. After studying and practicing law, he comes across a murder in which the townspeople have already decided to circumvent law and order and act as judge, jury, and executioners. Lincoln uses empathy and reason with a beaming lightness to calm the chaos and bring actual lawful proceedings underway. Ford sees Lincoln as representing the necessary steps of society and reasoning to control the chaos of the west. 

 

Camerawork: The way Ford portrays Lincoln shows him as being very much of the society he is from, rather than an alien to the environment. Ford seems to suggest that this logic, lawfulness, and reason can come from these rural areas in which society is more prone to unlawful circumvention. Ford does this by photographing Lincoln in areas of resolute nature. This suggests that this behavior and reasoning can be natural, rather than coming from some higher power. Lincoln uses this natural reasoning to bend and shape society to form his ideals of a civilized and lawful state.  

 

Best Shot: The best shot of the movie shows Lincoln standing in nature looking at the ripples from the rock he had thrown into the river. This both illustrates the previous point above about Lincoln coming form an organic state of mind and nature, as well as illustrating how that mindset and belief can change the world around him. The ripples from the rock represent the impact that Lincoln has on the society around him. And because we know how the Lincoln story unfolds, it resonates clearly. Lincoln was a man who came to resolute conclusions about belief of reasoning and empathy who would go on to shape and bend the world around him to fit these positive narratives.