Best Film of 2012

Rating: 9/10 (6 February 2013)

This was exceptional. I feel as if it wasn't a movie, but some sort of time probe back to the Civil War and we were watching the real people. Day Lewis literally was Lincoln. The dry as dust dead men of the House Of Representatives were brought back to life. I only hope these characterisations were accurate, as they were brilliant. Tommy Lee Jones also was on top of his game, along with the underrated David Strathern who was once again a rock solid foil to the more famous actors. I even forgave James Spaader for some of his previous juvenile work, as here as a middle aged man he was brilliant. So many good scenes, but the murder seen through the eyes of the son was a brilliant twist. The inevitable Ford Theatre endgame is overused in a dozen other films and TV series and needed a different approach. Many on here have called this film boring - the usual action film buffs who have no patience - I myself didn't even notice the passage of time. In fact the weakest scene was the battle scene at the beginning which seemed to have been shot by Mel Gibson it was such a mess. The usual pell mell chaos a la 'Braveheart' we have suffered since that film. (See 'Gettysburg' or 'Glory' for how to do it properly.) Oh, and the hundred or so extras walking in the rain without inverting their rifles were in danger of a breech explosion. Did no one, not even Mel, spot that howler ?
When is the DVD out ? I want to see it again !