From the Heart

It is so interesting when movies with similar themes come out at the same time.

In this case, it is movies about two American war-time presidents, Lincoln and Roosevelt. By the way, both  “Lincoln” and “Hyde Park on the Hudson” are very good. However, I expected “Lincoln” to be better and “Hyde Park on the Hudson” to be not as good.

But both are quite enjoyable.

Lincoln is about his having to make difficult personal decisions but doing it; certainly part of being the President.  It’s  what comes with being the “guy at the top,”  knowing what has to be done and doing it to get the job done.

Roosevelt was also having to make difficult decisions but handling it quite differently. The story helps us to understand how he, as a personality, needed distractions from his heavy responsibilities. The film also shows how everyone around him understands this.   Conversely, Lincoln seems to suffer alone.

I liked both stories and understand a little bit about being the person who has to make the difficult decisions.   I watched my husband, Abe, struggle when the teams weren’t doing well and he deserved the sign on his office door, “boss.”   I even used to call him that.   But he always understood his responsibility.

So both stories are about how different personalities deal with that kind of power and responsibility.

I liked both of them.