Movies: Lincoln

Score:  ****1/2 out of ***** (A)

Long Story Short:  Spielberg continues his historical drama bent with Lincoln, a much different film than last year's powerful War Horse but one that's at least as good.  Day-Lewis somehow surpasses expectations in portraying Abe with an utterly breathtaking performances that is one of the best I've ever seen.  The other main strength of the film is its restraint, bypassing much of the weighty times of Lincoln's presidency and taking place during a single month just before his death.  Whether or not you are a frequent moviegoer, I urge every adult to see this film, in the theater or elsewhere.


Fall movie madness continues, with Lincoln being the latest in not only one of the longest strings of films I've seen in consecutive weekends but also the highest quality of such back-to-back films.  My reasons for wanting to see Lincoln were plentiful.  First was the presence of Steven Spielberg as director, probably my favorite director of all time, and he has shown himself especially capable and respectful in filming historical dramas.  Abraham Lincoln is one of the most intriguing figures in our country's history, and to have Daniel Day-Lewis, possibly the best living actor, portray him was exciting.  Thus it was not surprising at all to see Lincoln get an excellent score on Rotten Tomatoes.  Lincoln was directed by Spielberg and stars Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, and others.

Unfortunately, Wikipedia's plot chronology, which I rely on since I often don't remember it very precisely, is nonexistent for this film.  Lincoln does start rather abruptly, on a rainy night following a bloody battle in the Civil War.  President Lincoln (Day-Lewis) sits hunched, almost grandfatherly, below a shabby roof while he listens to Union soldiers express their support for him but also demand for their sacrifice to mean something.  The action soon shifts to Washington, D.C., where the film's central plot comes into focus:  the attempt to pass the thirteenth amendment to the Constitution, which outlawed slavery.

Despite having a majority in Congress and a great deal of public support, Lincoln faced formidable challenges in passing the 13th amendment.  I won't go into detail, but the challenges come from both friend and foe:  Lincoln must persuade a number of Democrats to vote for it to get the supermajority needed, and do it before the surrender of the Confederacy.  He must also temper the enthusiastic support of "Radical" Republicans to not scare off his fragile coalition.  Even in his private life, Lincoln is enormously stressed by a son who wants to join the army and a wife who is on the verge of a breakdown over the death of their son three years prior.

Lincoln shines a bright spotlight on its cast and asks much of them, and they came through brilliantly.  Starring, and appearing in nearly ever scene, is of course Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln.  With all due respect to Denzel in Flight, Day-Lewis is guaranteed the Best Actor Oscar like no other I can remember.  I know it's a cliche, but it's about as accurate as possible:  Day-Lewis is Lincoln in this film.  In everything from his higher-pitched voice to his physical gestures and tendencies, he creates a man whose every characteristic is consistent with the whole and which also matches with someone I could easily believe as the real Abraham Lincoln.  Day-Lincoln tells story after story which could easily have become repetitive and boring, but each time he captures your complete attention and interest.  He gives a few extended, powerful rants, but also some abbreviated, everyday speeches with equal skill.  He is an honorable man, but one not above using lawyerly, morally ambiguous methods to achieve his crucial ends.  Day-Lincoln gets a mischievous twinkle in his eye when he tells a joke, listens passively in agony as his wife screams at him, and gives sad, quiet condolences to those who suffered losses in the Civil War.  Day-Lincoln is the film, plain and simple.

But there are some great supporting performances, too.  Tommy Lee Jones leads the rest as Radical Republican Thaddeus Stevens, who is most memorable in his epic and hilarious smackdowns of the slimy, racist Democratic Congressmen.  Jones also shines, though, when you can almost literally see him swallow his pride and accept smaller but achievable steps to true equality.  Sally Field shows a side of herself that I don't think I've seen before, depicting a brilliant woman on the edge of insanity, to whom tragedy has brought a constant state of rage; yet she also loves her living family fiercely.  David Straitharn (Bourne films) plays Secretary of State Seward with excellent formality and a steady dose of exasperation with his boss.  James Spader provides a nice shot of humor as a seedy briber tasked with securing/wrangling/begging the needed Democratic votes.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Lincoln's son Robert, but in contrast with the rest of the cast, doesn't really do much with the role.

The main genre of Lincoln is, of course, historical drama.  The subgenre is politics, politics, politics.  The entire film revolves around trying to pass the 13th amendment, and considering the stakes and the difficulties in doing so, it's certainly a worthy plot focus.  There are glimpses here and there of the real effects of the major influences on this amendment - the livelihood of African Americans, and the trauma of the Civil War - but again, the focus is really the Washington political machine and the push and pull between the executive and legislative branches of government.  This focus prevented the film from becoming diluted, and still managed to have some powerful emotional moments, typically dealing with either exhilarating political victories or critical moments in Lincoln's personal life.  Humor is sprinkled liberally throughout the film, fortunately, most of it coming from Day-Lincoln, Tommy Lee or Spader.  Finally, John Williams composed the music, as he always does for Spielberg, and it complements the various tones of the film while not attracting too much attention to itself.

***

Lincoln is about as good as its aim allow it to be; while those aims are perhaps a little limited - relatively speaking - the accuracy with which Day-Lewis and Spielberg hit the target is nearly perfect.  There is so much rich material to choose from in dealing with Abraham Lincoln's life, even if you are choosing only from his time as President, that I'm sure there was great temptation to do a sprawling biopic.  In fact, the screen-writer, Pulitzer Prize-winner Tony Kushner, initially sent Spielberg a mammoth script.  But Spielberg wisely pared that tome down to a one month period that represented perhaps Lincoln's greatest struggle and ultimate triumph.  Lincoln certainly gives a remarkable look at the titular man, and Day-Lewis is astoundingly brilliant, but it's more about his efforts and achievement for the nation than about the man himself.  I'm not sure, then, how much and how long Lincoln is likely to stick with me:  on the one hand, it's a tightly focused and expertly executed glimpse at one historical event, like Argo (although Spielberg is almost saying to Affleck, "good effort, kid, but this is how we do it in the big leagues"), and on the other hand, its smart decision to stay limited might prevent it from becoming an all-time classic.  My only gripe with it, really, is that the ending is drawn out a bit too long.  Anyway, I'm starting to nitpick:  Lincoln is a must see for all adults.