Movie Review: Lincoln (2012)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Great acting brings history to life

Cons: Could have used some editing

The Bottom Line:

History comes alive

Amazing acting, story

If a bit longish

"I've Found Prophesying One of Life's Less Profitable Professions."

While I usually find the Oscar nominees a dry lot I have little interest in seeing, I was intrigued by Lincoln from the moment I heard about it.  I love US history, and have a fascination with Lincoln.  I didn’t get around to seeing it in the theater, but I did watch it on DVD this weekend.

The movie follows our sixteenth President during the last few months of his life.  Specifically, it looks at Abraham Lincoln’s (Daniel Day-Lewis) push to get what would become the thirteenth amendment through Congress.  Democrats were opposed to it, and the Republicans, Lincoln’s own party, were split.  Meanwhile, a group from the Confederate States is proposing peace.  Will that derail the amendment to abolish slavery?  Will either happen, or will the war drag on?

It is amazing how easily you can get drawn into a story when you already know the outcome.  Yes, it really is that good.  Of course, it does help that I was fuzzy on the details, so each complication did make me wonder how they’d overcome it.

The acting is spellbinding.  Daniel Day-Lewis deserved his Oscar win, no questions asked.  His Lincoln is powerful, humble, and most of all a man of conviction.  That’s not to take away from the rest of the cast.  Sally Field is wonderful as his wife Mary Todd Lincoln.  I also enjoyed Joseph Gordon-Levitt as his older son and Tommy Lee Jones as Representative Thaddeus Stevens of the House of Representatives.  Really, however, there isn’t a bad acting job in the bunch.

And the movie looks amazing.  You are transported back to 1865 with amazing detail.  I can’t imagine the work it took with costumes and make up and all the sets, but it pays off perfectly.

As I watched the film, I couldn’t help but compare it to the politics of today.  Granted, I don’t know how historically accurate the film is (I do know there is controversy over how the representatives from Connecticut voted in the movie versus real life), but if this is indeed how the amendment got passed, it shows that nothing has really changed in Washington.  And considering the state of politics today, that’s very sad.  It also leaves a bit of a bad taste in your mouth to see one of your heroes from history stooping to back room deals even if the outcome was definitely the right outcome.  Or at least it did for me.

Unfortunately, the movie is a tad long at times.  While most of the scenes work and work beautifully, occasionally there is a scene that is designed to give us some character development that feels superfluous.  I mean, really.  The film is two and a half hours.  Couldn’t a few of those scenes have been cut for time?

Still, it’s hard to find too much fault in Lincoln.  Steven Spielberg has done an excellent job bringing one of our greatest President’s final days to life.