Lincoln Review

Those worried that Lincoln would be something along the lines of Civil War Horse have no need to fear.  Rather than going the sentimental route - an approach that would be expected, perhaps even appropriate, given Lincoln's stature as our most beloved President - Steven Spielberg delivers a stirring look into Lincoln's world in the waning days of the Civil War. 

Rather than cut away to scenes of bloody battles, Lincoln remains almost exclusively in the claustrophobic rooms and chambers of Washington, D.C., but still manages to capture the scope of the conflict.  The film focuses on Lincoln's attempt to pass the 13th Amendment, ending slavery, before negotiating peace with a delegation from the Confederacy, knowing that the end of the war would also kill the Amendment, at least for the time being.  While most of the film centers on the politics of the situation - the often hilarious theater of the House of Representatives, Lincoln's impassioned appeals to his cabinet, the promise of jobs for lame duck Democrats in exchange for their votes - the various facets of the war factor into the film through Lincoln's family (including a son who desperately wants to enlist but is forbidden by his mother), the opening scene of soldiers engaged in quasi-schoolyard brutality, and scenes of Ulysses S. Grant (Jared Harris) and his troops reacting to the events on Capitol Hill.

It's rather an impressive achievement, how the reach of the war is expressed and explored without the requisite scenes of violence, death, and loss.  Much is owed to Tony Kushner, who has written a truly incredible script.  Like The Social Network, Lincoln is as much the screenwriter's movie as it is the director's.  Kushner's script is rich, textured, humorous, and moving.  Lincoln gets stirring monologues, funny stories, and musings peppered with Shakespearean quotes; this is a man who is a walking legend, the subject of stories, but also the story-teller, a tower of intellect and humanity.  Also impressive are the scenes of debate in the House of Representatives, where Kushner unleashes his theatrical background to delightful effect.  The scenes are full of hifalutin diatribes and spirited banter, and provide some of the film's funniest moments.  Perhaps most impressive is that, even with the outcome a known fact of history, the film still wrings tension in the voting scene.

Of course, a beautifully written screenplay provides only the bones of the film, to be brought to life in the flesh of the actors, and Spielberg has collected one of the year's most impressive ensembles, headed by the inimitable Daniel Day-Lewis, who is utterly transformed, as he tends to be, but to the greatest extent he has ever achieved.

Day-Lewis is utterly absent in his Lincoln; he completely disappears into the role.  There is never a moment where you, the viewer, are aware of the actor behind the iconic profile.  Day-Lewis's Lincoln is every bit the mythic figure he has grown to be in our history books, and was in his day, garnering long looks of adoration from passers-by and colleagues alike.  Here is a man who is so beloved, and is told as much by his wife (Sally Field), but never swells with pride or abuses his power.  Often hunched, huddled in a blanket, fragile in appearance, this is a legend made mortal, shown to be flesh and bone but also something much more.  Day-Lewis presents Lincoln warts and all; he is a manipulative politician, an inattentive father, a neglectful husband, but he is still the subject of impossible admiration, and never once, even in his darker moments, is he anything less than the man history has made him out to be.

The supporting cast has quite a job cut out for them, keeping up with such an astonishing lead, but they are more than able.  Tommy Lee Jones is the stand-out as Thaddeus Stevens, a Radical Republican Representative who is at odds with the relatively mild terms Lincoln wants him to champion on the House floor.  Jones serves as comedic relief but also delivers some of the film's most emotionally resonant moments; the film explores why Stevens so vehemently supported racial equality (not just legal equality), and in his final moments onscreen, Jones reserves his slot in the Oscar race for Best Supporting Actor.

Other stand-outs include Lee Pace as haughty Fernando Wood, who rails against the Republicans and goads Stevens whenever he gets a chance; James Spader as WN Bilbo, one of the (hilarious) men recruited to help woo the lame duck Democrats; and Sally Field, whose Mary Todd Lincoln goes toe-to-toe with her husband, flinging accusations in private but always supporting him nonetheless.

Spielberg has done a wondrous thing with Lincoln.  The film could easily have wandered into the easy sentimentality that seems a natural occurrence when dealing with a national treasure, but Spielberg instead has delivered a film that is more interested in exploring the nooks and crannies of Civil War-era Washington, and the man who stood in its center.  Balancing moments of quiet reflection with the more circus-esque scenes of political ballyhoo, Spielberg rewards viewers with one of the richest historical films in recent memory.  Lincoln takes its time in telling its story, but it never feels long or laborious, which is a testament to Spielberg's direction, Kushner's script, and the impressive cast and crew.  Every element of the film, from the make-up to John Williams' (surprisingly constrained) score, works.  Here is one of the great directors working with a great group of collaborators to tell a great story.  It's no wonder Lincoln is so great, and rightly bound for Oscar glory.