REVIEW: LINCOLN
Before this review begins, I have to preface it with an embarrassing confession: Steven Spielberg's last epic, "War Horse," which came out in Christmas time and was nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award...drove me to sleep. Well...kind of. It might have been the result of the cool theater, or a long day's exhaustion, but I could be caught struggling to keep consciousness as the main character and the titular war horse were shown literally just plowing a field. I won the battle of sleep and resumed watching the movie, to be pleasantly surprised by the ending and gradual appreciation of "War Horse." I've yet to re-watch it, but I might after viewing this historical masterpiece by one of cinema's greatest actors and cinema's greatest directors about the nation's greatest president.
But praising a film with Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis is a given, these are masters at their craft after all, both with a couple of Oscars apiece. How terrible would it be to receive a letdown from these two legends? The pressure is enormous, and the already stated anxiety of playing truly one of the most famous men of all time had to be exasperating. So how to approach this film, earnestly and humbly, like the man himself, simply titled "Lincoln?" A full-on biography of the man on the five dollar bill and the penny? A look at his home life with Mary Todd and the First Children? No, while it incorporates a few of these elements, the almost inappropriately titled "Lincoln" centers most especially on the ratification of the 13th Amendment, which, in case there are you who didn't have to read at least one book report on Lincoln back in the day, abolished slavery. The movie would more suitably be titled "How Lincoln and Tommy Lee Jones got this bill to be passed by convincing everybody and kind of lying near the end."
Oooooh...spoiler alert? Sorry, but the ending to the film is something we all know, perhaps due to lack of chained, imprisoned persons in the United States (though Joe Biden would beg to differ). And even though we all know the bill gets passed and Lincoln visits the theater, Spielberg creates this wonderfully tense environment that has you second guessing history, and that's just the power of the movies he's able to instill into every scene. The movie is extremely talky, with the action brief, shown mostly in the beginning where we see the unflinchingly brutal portrayal of the Civil War, with violence including all races being pulverized. This shot's to establish that even though slavery was a huge issue, there were only two colors when the battle was going on: blue and gray.
The ensemble of this film is something like the recent Garry Marshall holiday films where it's a slew of celebrities too long to bill in this review. Lincoln's Jehovah's Witness-like recruiters for the 13th Amendment are played by James Spader, John Hawkes, and Tim Blake Nelson, all familiar and welcome faces disguised by period-appropriate bushy mustaches, with Spader providing much of the film's comic relief, though Day-Lewis' portrayal of Lincoln keeps that light tone throughout. If you've seen the movie or are familiar with movies in any way, you'll know Day-Lewis is an intense, Method actor who totally consumes the role he's in. We don't know what the real guy sounded like...but you just get the feeling he sounded like that. The kind face, the warm jokes he tells, the way he humors his son even when the history of the United States is on the line...this is a portrayal of the man America feels familiar with. Even if "Lincoln" gets cheated by the Academy, three nominations are set in stone: best actor, best makeup for completely nailing Lincoln's crucial appearance and a nomination for Tommy Lee Jones.
Jones represents the side of Lincoln, the ratification team for the 13th Amendment. It's good Lincoln had Jones' Thaddeus Stevens on his side, because he is a crude, hilarious and biting old man bent on doing what he knows deep down is the right thing, and a twist involving Jones' character made me realize I loved this movie instead of greatly liking it. It's the little touches that go a long way. Another notable performance is Sally Field, whose Mary Todd is often dismissively coined as insane, shows the utter frustration that comes along with being in the White House, and Field, fresh off being Aunt May, deserves another chance to get up on that podium and exclaim how much we like her. Also of mention is Michael Stuhlbarg's indecisive George Yeaman, who Lincoln ultimately talks face-to-face to convince him for the ratification. The acting's simply totally professional around the board.
So are there are any flaws in this epic? Of course, every Spielberg movie has to have little nitpicks that nerds like me emphasize. Honestly there isn't much, though the gargantuan length is unattractive, and at times you can feel the two and a half hours unfold. While the 19th century language can be poetic, the constant political jargon can make one feel a little overwhelmed, but it's an accurate portrayal of Congress. I don't need to go on much longer for you to get the sense that "Lincoln" is a stirring portrait of a man eager to change the world and the people that help him with that task. Expect a history class's-worth of Lincoln shout-outs this year at the Academy Awards.
Rating: 3.5/4 stars
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| Daniel Day-Lewis in the film...I think |
Oooooh...spoiler alert? Sorry, but the ending to the film is something we all know, perhaps due to lack of chained, imprisoned persons in the United States (though Joe Biden would beg to differ). And even though we all know the bill gets passed and Lincoln visits the theater, Spielberg creates this wonderfully tense environment that has you second guessing history, and that's just the power of the movies he's able to instill into every scene. The movie is extremely talky, with the action brief, shown mostly in the beginning where we see the unflinchingly brutal portrayal of the Civil War, with violence including all races being pulverized. This shot's to establish that even though slavery was a huge issue, there were only two colors when the battle was going on: blue and gray.
The ensemble of this film is something like the recent Garry Marshall holiday films where it's a slew of celebrities too long to bill in this review. Lincoln's Jehovah's Witness-like recruiters for the 13th Amendment are played by James Spader, John Hawkes, and Tim Blake Nelson, all familiar and welcome faces disguised by period-appropriate bushy mustaches, with Spader providing much of the film's comic relief, though Day-Lewis' portrayal of Lincoln keeps that light tone throughout. If you've seen the movie or are familiar with movies in any way, you'll know Day-Lewis is an intense, Method actor who totally consumes the role he's in. We don't know what the real guy sounded like...but you just get the feeling he sounded like that. The kind face, the warm jokes he tells, the way he humors his son even when the history of the United States is on the line...this is a portrayal of the man America feels familiar with. Even if "Lincoln" gets cheated by the Academy, three nominations are set in stone: best actor, best makeup for completely nailing Lincoln's crucial appearance and a nomination for Tommy Lee Jones.
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| Field as Mary Todd |
So are there are any flaws in this epic? Of course, every Spielberg movie has to have little nitpicks that nerds like me emphasize. Honestly there isn't much, though the gargantuan length is unattractive, and at times you can feel the two and a half hours unfold. While the 19th century language can be poetic, the constant political jargon can make one feel a little overwhelmed, but it's an accurate portrayal of Congress. I don't need to go on much longer for you to get the sense that "Lincoln" is a stirring portrait of a man eager to change the world and the people that help him with that task. Expect a history class's-worth of Lincoln shout-outs this year at the Academy Awards.
Rating: 3.5/4 stars
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