1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- Lincoln

#1152- Lincoln (2012)
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones
Directed by: Steven Spielberg


Plot summary: In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln hopes that the Civil War will come to an end soon, but is also concerned that when the war comes to an end that his recently passed Emancipation Proclamation will be discarded and slavery will still be allowed in the United States. Lincoln embarks on a mission to have the 13th Amendment passed by the end of the month, avoiding the possibility of already free slaves being re-slaved as a result. With not much support secured for the passing of the Amendment, it is up to Arnold and the members of the Republican Party to gather enough votes in favor of the 13th Amendment, including many Democratic Congressmen as well.


In this world of movie making that we have today, directors like Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino (2 of my personal favorites) always seem to keep elevating their game with every film by making them grander in vision and longer in time length. Then you have a director like Steven Spielberg, who peaked so early in his career in the '70s, '80s, and even '90s, that by the time he got to the new millennium, he didn't have the strongest lineup of movies going for him. Most remember the ones that were bad (A.I. Artificial Intelligence, War of the Worlds, and of course Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), a lot are forgotten as even being directed by Spielberg (The Terminal, Minority Report, The Adventures of Tintin), and the ones that were good were not considered as good as his earlier films (Munich, War Horse, and Catch Me If You Can). So along comes a film like Lincoln that received worldwide critical acclaim, countless award nominations, and considered a film that has breathed new life in Spielberg's career. And what more would you expect when the movie's subject is a biopic about arguably one of the greatest Presidents in U.S. history? So let's see why Lincoln has been labelled by many as the film to reignite the spark that was missing in Spielberg's career during the 2000s.

Daniel Day-Lewis absolutely shines as Abraham Lincoln, which was recognized by the Academy Awards when he won the award for Best Actor. By this point in his career, Day-Lewis was considered one of the greatest actors of our generation, and this role cemented him as an all-time great. Not everyone in the world could walk into the role of Abraham Lincoln and knock it out of the park as well as he did. He peels back layer after layer and shows you many facets about Lincoln that make him the great speaker he is, but also a man with everyday emotions and conflicts that many might not be aware of. And come on...he LOOKS the part. Daniel Day-Lewis is definitely a chameleon of an actor, and his role in Lincoln may be his best work yet, since you don't see Daniel Day-Lewis...you see Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln's family life is scattered throughout the main narrative with three different family members. The easiest for him is his relationship with his younger son Tad, played by Gulliver McGrath. McGrath does a good job of making this child character not stick out like a sore thumb or overly ham it up for the sake of being an adorable child character, and his scenes with his father peel back another layer of Abraham Lincoln that most audiences probably aren't used to seeing. This relationship is parallel to his relationship with his oldest son Robert, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Here we see his son struggling to break out of his father's shadow while still contributing to something important. We see the father and son at odds with each other, but it doesn't feel out of place or non-believable. I mean, if your father was Abraham Lincoln wouldn't you feel the pressure to succeed? But perhaps the most interesting relationship is with his wife Mary, played by Sally Field. As someone who is getting married soon, I saw how these two could bicker every other scene and make up constantly out of their love for each other and say "it even happened to Abraham Lincoln." Diving into his various relationships with family really help characterize how this larger than life president had a lot of the same everyday problems as his citizens.

Like most Spielberg movies, Lincoln has a HUGE cast of characters, with so many to choose from, it was hard to choose some favorites (other than Lincoln of course). One of the best performances was from Tommy Lee Jones as Congressman Thaddeus Stevens. Stevens is one of the film's strongest characters since he fights for the 13th Amendment so passionately and aggressively that you can't help but respect the man for his efforts (especially towards the end when you see one of his key motives). Not to mention the fact that it's FREAKING Tommy Lee Jones, of course he's gonna give a solid performance. I also really liked the three members of the Republican Party that were on an endless pursuit to gain supporters in passing the 13th Amendment. James Spader plays William N. Bilbo, Tim Blake Nelson plays Richard Schell, and John Hawkes plays Robert Latham. These three have great chemistry and really find a way to be entertaining throughout the movie (especially Spader as Bilbo). But the most surprising performance was Lee Pace as Congressman Fernando Wood, who is firmly against the 13th Amendment. Pace is known for a lot of his character work, particularly with makeup in blockbuster movies like The Hobbit Trilogy and Guardians of the Galaxy, so it's refreshing to see him in a "normal" role actually relying on his acting than the practical effects used to create something mystical.

By this point, I'm not surprised that Spielberg knows how to emerge the audience in the proper atmosphere. This entire film felt like a History Channel special on steroids. Any possible emotions and environment that you could imagine is turned all the way up to an 11 and all the costumes and set pieces feel authentic for this time period in American history. However...

The film's biggest negative aspect is in its inability to keep someone engaged for the entire film. I get that the discussions are really important for the passing of the 13th Amendment, but how on earth do you expect to tell a Civil War era film without even ONE Civil War battle? Would it really have taken the focus off Lincoln? I mean, half the film is spent away from him on the other characters anyways. If Lincoln would have put something between the endless amount of speeches and dialogue to give the causal moviegoer a little more excitement and a break from the serious discussions, then we could have had something EPIC. It would have crossed all the grit of Saving Private Ryan with the emotions of Schindler's List. Can you picture that? At this point, it sounds like a really missed opportunity doesn't it?


Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I think it would be fair to call Lincoln brilliant but boring. Yes, Daniel Day-Lewis is phenomenal as Lincoln. Yes, the film has a great supporting cast. Yes, it is well written. And of course, Spielberg is a phenomenal director for this project. The big problem is that the plot is not as engaging for the casual moviegoer who wants some action spread throughout the 2 1/2 hours of talking. A rental at best for Spielberg fans, but if you're a historian with a soft spot for Abraham Lincoln, I'd suggest owning it in your collection.

Lincoln and movie images are copyrighted by Touchstone Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures