The plot of “Lincoln”@@http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443272/@@ revolves around the sixteenth president’s last year in office and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment.
You can tell from the get-go that this is a Steven Spielberg@@imdb@@ picture. I may not have caught this movie in the theater had it not had his name attached to it. With grand set pieces, wide shots and slow, sweeping music, it has his name all over it. A good thing too, since it would take a master storyteller to take such a dry subject as the passage of a constitutional amendment and make it worth watching.
But where this movie really shines is Daniel Day-Louis’@@imdb@@ performance as Abraham Lincoln. This is a master class of character acting. Soft spoken, wise and exuding with charisma, there wasn’t a moment where I didn’t believe I was watching the legendary president hunt his whale (as he puts it in the film) of trying to get this amendment passed. He’s remarkable, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he pulls an Oscar out of this performance. It was truly inspired.
Sally Field does a good job as Lincoln’s grief-crazed wife, Tommy Lee Jones does what he does best (acting like Tommy Lee Jones) and there was even a short role by Joseph Gordon-Levitt in there. I swear that guy is in everything these days.
At times the film felt a little heavy-handed, and there were slight historical inaccuracies regarding one or two things, but it didn’t pull me out of the moment — or if it did, it wasn’t for very long.
“Lincoln” is a slower and methodical film. It was a joy to watch, albeit a little long. This is not the aliens or dinosaurs fare that we have come to expect form Spielberg, though it would be awesome if we got to see Abraham Lincoln riding dinosaurs and fighting aliens. A guy can hope, right?
This movie is going to be a contender for Best Motion Picture of 2012 at the Oscars. Recommended.
Final Grade: A-