Brilliant Script and Casting make this one of the year's best movies

Rating: 9/10 (5 December 2012)

Hollywood powerhouse Steven Spielberg takes on the Civil War and the biopic in his latest movie, Lincoln. But this is not the traditional biopic, as Spielberg primarily focuses on one month of Abraham Lincoln's life- January 1865- when the legendary President employed his cunning political skills to procure enough votes in the House of Representatives to pass a Constitutional Amendment that would ban slavery in the United States.
Lincoln's intelligent and humorous script by Tony Kushner and its outstanding, Oscar worthy performances enraptures the viewer. Daniel Day Lewis, Sally Field, and Tommy Lee Jones deliver those rare performances that make you feel like historic figures have come back from the dead. Daniel Day Lewis delivers an intimate yet distant performance as Abraham Lincoln, bringing the sixteenth President's jovial and melancholic qualities to life. A great deal of credit must also go to Tony Kushner for writing a historically accurate Lincoln. Historians are still debating Lincoln's personal beliefs, such as his racial attitudes and the morality of his leadership decisions. Kushner's treatment of Lincoln reflects these uncertainties. For example, in conversations about the future of African Americans in America, Lincoln's true feelings about black people are not always easy to decipher, except for his opposition to slavery. Some might find this to be a dodge or a cheat on behalf of Tony Kushner, but I think it is brilliant. The film should not answer this question.
Of course, it is clear that Kushner and Spielberg admire Lincoln very much, and in this respect the film is biased. But they are not afraid to show that Abraham Lincoln was a complex man full of contradictions. He is a man of high morals, but he is willing to sacrifice those morals for the greater good. Lincoln unabashedly dives into the dark side of politics by resorting to bribery and patronage to turn partisan Democrats to his side. He enlists the aid of W.N. Bilbo (played by James Spader) to procure votes from the few Democrats who might betray their party. One of the highlights of the movie is Spielberg's surprisingly funny portrayal of the corruption of nineteenth century politics.
Drawing inspiration from Doris Kearns Goodwin's biography of Lincoln, Team of Rivals, the movie significantly focuses on Lincoln's relationship with his cabinet and Congress. Lincoln's determination to pass the Thirteenth Amendment when there was still the prospect of a negotiated peace with the South drives his Secretary of State William Seward (David Strathairn) mad. But the most significant supporting political character is Radical Republican Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones), who pushes the Thirteenth Amendment through the House of Representatives. Jones perfectly captures the personality of the staunch Radical Republican, so assured of the righteousness of his convictions that he takes down his opponents on the debate floor with confidence and zeal. Stevens is one of those rare honest politicians that we love to root for, made all the more identifiable to us for his modern views on race. My favorite scene in the film was when he delivers the Thirteenth Amendment to his housekeeper/girlfriend, a woman of mixed race. The sight of these two elderly people sharing this moment together was very touching.
When the film isn't focusing on politics, the President struggles to find time for his wife Mary and his sons Robert and Tad just when they need him the most. Mary Todd Lincoln (Sally Field) and Robert (Joseph Gordon Levitt) are both under immense pressure. Robert feels he must enlist or else he won't measure up to his peers, but his mother is crushed by the death of her son Willie and cannot bear the possibility of losing another boy. Sally Field brings just the right combination of likability and wretchedness for the role.
Lincoln is flawed in several important respects, however. The film's limited time frame does not allow Spielberg to capture the complicated history behind the Thirteenth Amendment. As Historian Eric Foner and other critics have noted, emancipation amendments were championed by radical abolitionists before Lincoln. Secondly, the film ignores an important aspect of emancipation- the slaves themselves. The fugitive slaves who ran to Union lines forced the North to adopt a more immediate emancipation policy in the first place, and Spielberg's decision to focus only on Lincoln demonstrates that people are still more enamored with the big names of history than average people. Of course, it is true that a biopic cannot focus on every aspect of emancipation, but African Americans could have been placed on a more equal footing without diverting too much attention from Lincoln.
The film is also based on the false premise that the South would have blocked an anti-slavery Amendment if they were readmitted into the Union, making it imperative for Lincoln to pass it before the end of the war. But in reality, Lincoln would have called a special session of Congress in March 1865 and passed the Amendment quite easily, since the Republican victors in the previous election would have taken their seats in the House. The Southern states would not have been able to block the Amendment anyway, as they would not have been granted any influence in Congress.
I think this movie is too aware of the Lincoln legend for its own good. There are a few too many moments where people stare at Lincoln with wide eyed admiration. Spielberg indulges in his typical overt manipulations a bit too much. Viewers might also be challenged by Lincoln's long monologues. Even I had trouble sitting through them.
Still, Lincoln is easily the best Civil War movie since Glory. Spielberg does for nineteenth century politics what Edward Zwick did for Civil War battles, and if I haven't made it clear enough by now, I LOVE this cast. If you like Civil War history and great performances, you must see this film.