An unwatchable self-important mess of a film more interested in looking like art than telling a compelling story.

Visually stunning and exceptional acting but the movie does drag at times. this is more of a film about frontier life in America in The 1830s then a backstory about Lincoln's childhood. The young Abe Lincoln serves little purpose other than as a witness to the struggles of his family and how they coped with these struggles.

I tried to like it but this boring, lifeless drama is impossible to watch. There's no plot line and the monotony is depressing.

Filmed in an elegant monochrome, "The Better Angels" tells the story of Abraham Lincoln during his formative years in early 19th century Indiana. Writer-director A. J. Edwards' gently-woven narrative reveals itself through visuals and tone instead of exposition. Scenes of idyllic splendour are filled with a Malickian sense of wonder (unsurprising as Terrence Malick is a producer). Through its quiet unfolding, the film explores how simple, fleeting moments can have a permanent and life-altering effect.

I thought this was an exceptional film and a great part of it is the black and white photography, the raw emotion and the lack of some obvious plot. Probably not good enough people scared of black and white films and who need alien apocalypses in every film they watch.

Impossible to even watch. Had to turn it off after 5 minutes because it literally made me queasy. The shots are at weird angles and with super wind lenses and there's handicam and I just can't fathom a human being being able to to watch all of this without needing to hurl.

It's an aesthetically identical movie to The Tree of Life, apparently from the renowned producer giving hands-on instructions to the new writer/director, but it lacks the storytelling and historical connection that makes the style worth it.

I loved this movie. It was very thought provoking and beautiful.

Screw the critics, this is a great film.

The pacing is a vast improvement from Malick's previous films, and, as film debut, Edwards' film does look a feel like a Terrence Malick feature, the visual poetry and unmatched visuals are spot-on. The thing is, we've seen Lincoln's life unfold so many times and this film never anchors itself and doesn't manage to stand alone.

In order to appreciate the beauty of this movie you need to appreciate the artistic eyes of Malick. Ability to understand young Lincoln and his relationships with his two mothers was beautifully done

A spare, bucolic "Tree of Life"-style boyhood of Lincoln which aims at a strange power but is normal.

Kruger and Clarke do their best to look steadfast with a camera swooping around them like a wounded bird, but there's no rescuing this imprecise family portrait from its own impulses toward obscurity.

It's very Malicky, and so even though it mostly feels like a black and white duplicate of the Tree of Life, that's not necessarily a bad thing.