Lincoln

Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, and Tommy Lee Jones
New Release Review

It feels a little strange to be calling this a new release review when Lincoln has been out for months but it is a new-to-us release. Around here, we don't always get the arty, serious, historical, or just plain good movies until there is some serious buzz about them. However, thanks to the Academy Awards, there is usually a surge of great movies to see in January and February as our theatres finally realize that people will see a historical drama if it's, you know, playing in our city. I have friends who actually went to another country (USA) to see Lincoln because it just wasn't playing anywhere else nearby. But I digress. On to the review...

Lincoln follows the story of President Abraham Lincoln (Day-Lewis) as he enters his second term of office. The Civil War is still threatening to tear the country apart and President Lincoln is struggling with Congress to have his extremely divisive and controversial 13th Amendment to the Constitution passed, therefore outlawing slavery. At it's core Lincoln is a political drama; there are few scenes of fighting, gore, or battle. The characters make impassioned speeches to one another about the strategy each side must employ to achieve their goals.

And there is no shortage of drama within the Lincoln family, either. Mary (Todd) Lincoln is played to spectacular perfection by Sally Field. Mary has lost her yet another son to disease and the movie shows her as a mother who is still very much grieving one year after his death. Yet Mary continues to fulfil her duties as First Lady through what would today likely be classified as migraines and mental illness. Field isn't in the movie much and at first I wondered why she was given a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Not because I doubt the talent of Sally Field but she just didn't have much to do as Mrs. Lincoln. And then a scene where Abraham and Mary have an argument completely blew me away. It isn't a spoiler to say that their relationship was at times rocky (possibly due to the mental illness(es) from which she suffered?) and this scene has Mary literally flop down on the floor in frustration with what she sees as her husband's indifference to the recent death of their son. It's truly amazing to watch as each speaks over the other without resorting to screaming melodrama. And as Arlaine said, "who else could go toe-to-toe with Daniel Day-Lewis?" Well done, Sally.

Spielberg did a great job of creating tension and suspense on the day of the congressional vote on the 13th amendment. Of course we all know how it turns out yet I was still captivated as each Congressman was called to state his vote. It was a reminder of how deeply divided the country was and how close Lincoln's attempt at stopping slavery while obtaining a lasting peace came to failure.

I do have a slight problem with how Speilberg chose to end the movie. If you'd rather not read about the final scenes then stop here.

Verdict: See it. Daniel Day-Lewis is a lock for Best Actor and you won't be disappointed by his performance.

***Slight Spoilers Ahead***
A few weeks after the amendment has passed we join Lincoln and his cabinet as they're discussing the next steps for the government. The president seems excited about the possibilities that lie before his country and how he can make America better for all its citizens, not just a wealthy few. The butler arrives to remind Mr. Lincoln that Mrs. Lincoln is waiting in the carriage and that if he doesn't hurry they will be late for the theatre. Mr. Lincoln then tells his cabinet " I have to go, but I'd rather stay" and he then walks quietly down the hall wearing his iconic top hat and black suit.

I would have loved for the movie to end there. We know what happens that night at the theatre. We know how the story ends. But seeing him live at the end of it would have made his death that much more poignant and real to modern audiences. I felt more sadness watching Lincoln walk to his death than I did when the doctor actually pronounces him dead. Granted, Spielberg did make a great choice in not showing the actual assassination but rather the reaction and aftermath from the point of view of his youngest son who is attending another play that same evening. Yet even that felt a little unnecessary to me. And the strange effect with the voiceover that dissolves from the candle flame to the memory of a public speech where Lincoln calls for peace and equality felt too much like an attempt to make the movie relate to the wars of today.

Sometimes it's the things that are left unsaid that have the most impact and I wish Spielberg had let Lincoln have the last word as a man rather than as a political icon. After all, we'd just spent 3 hours getting to know that man. Let us mourn him without the cliché.