LINCOLN
Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally FieldIts 1865 and the Civil War is pitting brother against brother.
Directed by Steven Spielberg
At the outset of Steven Spielbergs biopic of the 16th American president, more cynical viewers this one included may well believe that they already have the next two-and-a-half hours all figured out.
Its 1865 and the Civil War is pitting brother against brother. As blood pools on a battlefield, it seems that Spielberg is trying to top himself or, more specifically, that celebrated Omaha Beach sequence from Saving Private Ryan. However, we cut almost immediately from the front lines to see Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) listening as soldiers quote his Gettysburg Address back to him. Not only does the scene establish the weight of responsibility felt by Lincoln, it also serves notice that this film is more concerned with speeches and verbal sparring than spectacle.
And if Spielberg is intent on debunking our preconceptions about his filmmaking tactics, hes also looking to demystify Lincoln. Punctuated by glimpses into Honest Abes domestic life, Tony Kushners script is primarily a detailed account of the puppeteering and political maneuvering including the deployment of three conniving underlings comically portrayed by John Hawkes, James Spader, and Tim Blake Nelson that the Great Emancipator resorted to in order to have the 13th Amendment passed.
Hes aided immensely in this aim by some characteristically exceptional work by Day-Lewis. Notably dialled down, his soft-spoken and self-deprecating Lincoln possesses a knack for sending anecdotes down winding roads that invariably arrive at powerful conclusions. All told, its an ideal performance for a film thats governed by the belief that landmark events arent the work of altruistic icons but fallible human beings.
