LINCOLN

LINCOLN (2012)

Grade: B-

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Tommy Lee Jones, Hal Holbrook, James Spader, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gulliver McGrath, Lee Pace and Jared Harris

Premise: Shortly after being re-elected for his second term as president, Abraham Lincoln struggles to pass the 13^th Amendment and free the slaves despite assurances from friends and colleagues that it will prolong the Civil War.

Rated PG-13 for language, intense emotional content and some disturbing war-related images

Lincoln is one of those movies that will clearly divide those who appreciate moviemaking as a craft and those who simply watch movies for entertainment purposes. A serious, “art-house” weekend alternative to the more conventional Twilight Saga finale, it comes with the highest possible pedigree. It’s the 28^th feature film directed by Steven Spielberg, it stars two-time Academy Award-winner Daniel Day-Lewis as one of the most recognizable leaders in world history, features a sprawling cast of fine actors young and old (Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Hal Holbrook, Gulliver McGrath), and chronicles one of the most important legislative decisions in the history of the United States (and maybe the world)—the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which outlawed slavery forever in America.

It’s a great story, and you’d be hard-pressed to find an event in history that has changed our country’s landscape and culture as dramatically as the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment, but Lincoln is one of those movies that had me, personally, leaning back toward the “movies-for-entertainment” camp. As a self-proclaimed snooty, high-falutin’ movie critic wannabe, I’ve seen a lot of movies, and I’ve gone out of my way to see and enjoy movies that most people would never watch and have never heard of. But, Lincoln, though a stirring historical narrative, is no Civil War action picture. It’s not a romance, and it’s not a comedy. It is a historical drama, focused on one of the toughest decisions any of our presidents has had to make, it takes place almost entirely in the offices and courtrooms and corridors of buildings in Washington, and the word for it is talky. It’s good stuff, but after two-and-a-half hours became more than a little tedious.

Plot: After being re-elected in the midst of the Civil War’s fourth full year, Abraham Lincoln (Day-Lewis) decides it’s time to get his amendment passed, to one-up the Emancipation Proclamation by freeing all American slaves, once and for all. However, everyone from his fiery wife (Sally Field) to his Cabinet members (David Strathairn, Hal Holbrook) agree that “it’s either this amendment or the Confederate peace, you cannot have both”. With Reconstruction looming even while the War rages on, many of even Lincoln’s closest supporters believe freeing the slaves any time soon would be a grievous mistake, and they know the Confederacy will prove even more stubborn to keep fighting if an attempt is made to take its slaves away. So, while secretly courting a few top Confederate officials to discuss terms of peace, Lincoln publicly places his amendment before the House of Representatives again. The sides are clear: some, like stodgy Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones) have fought their entire lives to get slavery abolished. Others, like fiery Fernando Wood (Lee Pace), believe white people are morally and biblically superior, and that it would be a degradation to society to free them. Going with his gut to pursue the amendment before the peace, Lincoln leaves the Confederate officials in the care of General Ulysses S. Grant (Jared Harris) and recruits a team (James Spader, John Hawkes and Tim Blake Nelson) to work on persuading any moderate or “lame duck” representatives to vote pro-amendment, to generate as much in-favor support as possible. Meanwhile, a more personal distraction arrives in the form of Lincoln’s oldest son, Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who has dropped out of Harvard and desires to join the army against the wishes of both his parents.

What Works?

It’s impossible to discuss Lincoln without focusing on the man at its center, and one of America’s most decorated figures is brought to vivid, entrancing life by the gifted Daniel Day-Lewis. While some have quibbled about the voice chosen—low and quavering, not quite “commanding”—the actor not only looks the part but makes Lincoln a man of powerful conviction and deep wells of emotion. Between his knack for sly jokes and twinkly optimism and his equally convincing explosions of anger and feeling—not to mention the enormous frame and the oft-present top hat—Day-Lewis does enable you to believe that, somehow, you are watching the Abraham Lincoln, a man we’ve all heard about and seen in books but rarely studied up close.

While none of the other actors get anything close to the time Day-Lewis does to flesh out their characters, many make solid, memorable contributions. Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones have already gotten Oscar buzz for their stirring performances, David Strathairn is his usual reliable self, and Lincoln is packed with many other respectable actors all deserving of notice. In fact, the cast is so big and so good some fine actors (like Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jared Harris) are given only bits of screen time when they clearly warrant more.

All the aesthetic production values are superb, from the wigs and the suits to the costumes and the sets. The cinematography is great—while most of the movie takes place in offices and courtrooms, placing a premium on lighting and angles, there’s a dazzling outdoor close-up of the Capitol building, a slow panning of a devastated battlefield in Petersburg that drives home the horror of the War, and a truly moving moment when Gen. Grant, having accepted Lee’s surrender at Appomatox, takes off his cap to his rival and fellow countryman, and his subordinates respectfully follow suit.

Oh, and did you know that even old men in wigs can be funny? For a movie that can be stuffy and talky, it packs a surprising number of jokes that allow the audience to giggle.

What Doesn’t Work?

Lincoln is long. Though its 149 minutes probably place it somewhere in the middle of Steven Spielberg’s output, it feels about twice that. It’s a quality film, but, again, the word I come back to is tedious. There’s precious little to get the pulse racing, and the old-time dialogue—which renders about a third of the conversations unintelligible—doesn’t help. Though the actors are good and the history meaningful, it’s also disappointing that Lincoln lacks the typical Spielberg pizzazz. It seems like such a quiet, unexciting movie for the director, who’s most famous for his action/adventure fare and classic set pieces. But is that really his fault? Or the movie’s? I guess I just wasn’t expecting such a straight-up, no-frills character study.

Lincoln also takes a couple extra scenes to end, taking it to a rather overly-sentimental stopping point.

Content:

Lincoln mostly consists of men talking, but there are a few grim visual reminders of the War going on in the background that is oft-mentioned (remember, this is Steven Spielberg directing—a man famous for his graphic depictions of war and its costs in Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List). Some of the details do get gory. There’s also a fair amount of cussing and some heated/emotional discussions. Mostly, this is a tame film, but it’s the slow-burn history-class presentation of the material that will (and, in some cases, should) keep people away.

Bottom Line (I Promise):

It tells an important story and it’s undeniably well made, but Lincoln lacks regular entertainment value outside of a truly impressive performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, and it will not prove the most exciting two and a half hours you’ve ever spent in a theater. It’s far from Steven Spielberg’s best film, and I wouldn’t recommend it to many people, but it’s still an effective portrait of a man who continues to inspire millions.

Lincoln (2012)

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Screenplay by Tony Kushner; Based on the book “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Rated PG-13

Length: 149 minutes