Our political series concludes this week with Steven Spielberg’s Oscar winning Lincoln.
The Plot
It’s one year before the end of the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln is fresh off the success of winning reelection. Eager to see the war end, Lincoln is looking to ensure the freedom of all black Americans by passing a 13th amendment to the constitution.
Before the new House of Representatives sit, Lincoln wants to see this law passed with bipartisan support, no matter the consequences. As operatives begin to seek out votes, Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward grapple with meeting southern peace representatives.
Clashing with members of his own party, including venerable congressman Thaddeus Stevens, Lincoln is dead set on passing this amendment to guarantee freedom.
The Good
Daniel Day-Lewis is without a doubt the greatest actor of the last forty years, and his commitment to the role is undeniable. The man takes his work seriously and makes his roles so memorable because of that deep desire to be the best on screen. Day-Lewis is not only focused on the cadence of what Lincoln’s voice was like, but his physical power to transform his body to look and emulate the image of Lincoln is one of a kind. Every movie that Daniel Day-Lewis stars in is an epic because he is willing to put so much of his soul into his performance that audiences will be mesmerized by his work.
This movie is filled beyond the brim with talented actors. David Strathairn, Tommy Lee Jones, Bruce McGill, Jared Harris, Tim Blake Nelson, James Spader, John Hawkes, Joseph Gordon Levitt, and Hal Holbrook. This cast is oozing talent from every scene.
Directed by Steven Spielberg. Four of the greatest words in the credits for any film, and Spielberg’s undeniable skill behind the camera takes a rather mundane story and makes it an edge of your seat suspense ride. The passage of a law is not exciting, but the profound consequences of what the 13th amendment will do is something that helped define the unified United States of America.
Tony Kushner’s screenplay is spectacular. The audience gets to meet so many characters that were influential to this moment in American history. We see the violence of war, the relationship between Mary and Abe, the political machinations that Lincoln was willing to initiate to get the amendment passed, and the many characters who inhabited this world with the real Abraham Lincoln.
The Bad and the Ugly
I have no complaints. This movie is incredible.
Beyond the Film Facts
- The movie won two Oscars, Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis, and Best Production Design.
- The film in total was nominated for twelve Academy Awards, including nominations for Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, Spielberg for Best Director, and Best Picture. (The movie was robbed of its many richly deserved Oscars.)
- While Day-Lewis cleaned up on the awards circuit, Tommy Lee Jones won a Best Supporting Actor award from the Screen Actors Guild.
- The award nominations for the film range in the hundreds. Spielberg was even nominated for the Directors Guild Award. Even John Williams won some awards from film critics circles for his incredible score for the film.
- The movie is based on part of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book about Lincoln called Team of Rivals.
- Spielberg spent over a decade working on the film. Liam Neeson was signed on to play Lincoln but dropped out because he felt that he was too old for the part. This allowed Spielberg to go back to his original choice, Daniel Day-Lewis.
- Day-Lewis was skeptical at first, and reportedly it was Leonardo DiCaprio who convinced him to take the part.
- It took a lot of convincing for Spielberg to cast Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln. Field wanted the role and after screen testing with Day-Lewis the part was hers.
- Spielberg has resolved that if Day-Lewis didn’t take the part, then he wouldn’t make the film. Thankfully he did, and the rest is magic on the screen.
- The scenes at the Capitol Building were filmed at the state house in Richmond, Virginia. The state gave the film unfettered access.
- This was the first Steven Spielberg film to win an Oscar for acting.
- Roger Ebert gave the film four stars in his glowing review.
- Adam Driver has a small role as a telegraph officer.
The Streamy Award
{The following four categories are based on a Film Reel scale.
1 Reel-Bored and Killing Time, 2 Reels-When You Have Some Time, 3 Reels-Make Some Time, 4 Reels-Big Screen Event}
Lincoln is a masterpiece. Not only does it allow the greatest actor of the last forty years to bring to life one of the most legendary leaders in American history, but it also offers viewers a chance to understand what happened at this point in the Civil War, how the leaders dealt with situations, and what the people felt while they had these incredible positions of leadership thrust upon them.
There are many biopics to watch, and sometimes those films capture the essence of a person, but the audience always knows ‘that’s Anthony Hopkins playing Nixon’. No one mistakes Madonna’s performance with witnessing the real Eva Peron.
Daniel Day-Lewis makes you believe that Lincoln is a window in time to what really happened. Now that is magic.
Lincoln is a 4 Reels film. Make time and watch this movie on the biggest screen you can find.
Cast and Crew
- Daniel Day-Lewis as Abe Lincoln
- Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln
- David Strathairn as William Seward
- Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens
- Hal Holbrook as Preston Blair
- Joseph Gordon-Leavitt as Robert Lincoln
- Jared Harris as Ulysses S. Grant
- James Spader as W.N. Bilbo
- Tim Blake Nelson as Richard Schell
- John Hawkes as Robert Latham
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Produced by Dreamworks Pictures / Twentieth Century Fox/ Reliance Entertainment / Touchstone Pictures (distribution only)
Release Date: November 16, 2012
Budget: $65 million
Box Office Gross
Domestic: $182,207,973
Worldwide Total: $275,293,450
Coming Soon
Next week, A Simple Twist of Fate with Steve Martin. Is this modern adaptation of Silas Marner worth watching?