Lincoln Review

Daniel Day-Lewis as President Lincoln in Lincoln

Lincoln

A+

 

A review by Frederick Cholowski

It takes a master to make a film about master. Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln is the first time in film history where arguably the most beloved president of all time gets his dues. Gone is the god like status, the inhuman caricatures, and the vampire hunting, and in is the portrait of a human being; a human being that has to deal with the weight and consequences of decisions that he, as well as the rest of his party have made. Lincoln is an amazing portrait of one of the most important periods in American History and of the man who defined that period. It also happens to be amongst the best of the best that this year has had to offer.

Lincoln is essentially the movie about President Lincoln (played in this film by Daniel Day-Lewis) attempting to pass the thirteenth amendment and thus ending slavery in America. When the film opens the American civil war is coming to a close with the North about to get the south to surrender and President Lincoln fears he only has a limited amount of time to pass the then controversial amendment in the “barbaric” House of Representatives. So Lincoln and his secretary of state William Seward (David Strathairn) must rush to pass the amendment before the war ends, which because of the war secretly coming to a close very soon, makes that very difficult. So off to recruitment we go as president Lincoln must try and recruit not only some support from his own party but from the dreaded Democrats as well.

While it has the look (and at times a feel) of a classic Spielberg history lesson Lincoln is different in many ways. The films main focus is on quieter scenes that humanize the great president. These scenes are often full of playwright style of dialogue and contain many dialogues and monologs. In fact the best comparison for the way most of the film is played out is in fact in the style of a stage production. That’s not to say that big, dramatic, Spielbergian filmmaking doesn’t get showcased, as the bigger moments, highlighted with an amazing John Williams score, still feel like the good old days of big American biopics. Overall the feel of the film is a perfect balance of both elements and features some truly amazing moments on both sides of the spectrum.

Most of these amazing moments come thanks to a brilliant lead performance by Daniel Day-Lewis. Lewis has always been one of the best actors in modern cinema and this is just another knock out performance to add to his resume. Lewis brings so much subtlety and human complexity to president Lincoln while still consistently retaining that large figure status of Lincoln. The best part of the film is how through the writing and Lewis’s performance president Lincoln is portrayed as a human being. He may be a larger than life figure on the outside, but on the inside he’s just a crafty politician that just happens to be a step ahead of the best of them. Ultimately this gives Lewis a ton to work with, and he gets out of it is masterful.

There is some fantastic supporting work done here as well. The best of the supporting players is Tommy Lee Jones as the anti slavery republican Thaddeus Stevens. Jones gets to have some fun and chew on some fantastic scenery and between him and The Master’s Philip Seymour Hoffman it’s going to be a tight race for best supporting actor. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is his usual amazing self as the president’s son who’s convinced he needs to enlist. Levitt brings his usual charisma and power and continues to prove that he’s one of today’s best young actors. There are other amazing performers who show up in supporting roles, John Hawkes, Sally Field, and David Strathairn amongst many others.

The look of the film still retains the classic feel of a big Spielberg film. Lincoln is gorgeously shot and masterfully directed and the attention to detail in every shot is astounding. Wide, all encompassing shots are mixed in with tighter, more conversational medium shots to create a feel that brings out all the different elements of what the film is trying to convey. Then there is the score from the great John Williams that proves that even after all these years that he’s still one of the greatest movie soundtrack composers in history.

Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln represents the first time that president Lincoln gets a proper treatment in the movies. The film is a vast, yet personal take on one of the most important times in American History. The film represents a return to tip top form for the great director as well as another brilliant film to add to the best of 2012.