Better than history books

Rating: 8/10 (2 February 2013)

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To be honest, as I bought the ticket to watch Lincoln, I was thinking that this will be a movie which will show us that Abraham Lincoln was the best president of the best country and that kind of bullshit. But, that was not the case. The movie isn't about the president, nor is it about the Civil War, it's about the 13th amendment that abolished slavery. Although we all know the story, the movie brings us details most of us don't know, helping us to complete the picture about Lincoln's last few months.
As I previously said, the movie is about Abraham Lincoln's fight to abolish slavery. The most important thing about the movie is that it shows us that Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) didn't do it alone. The fight was fought by many people, including The Secretary of State William Seward (David Strathairn) and Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones). In addition, the movie gives us a deep look onto Lincoln's personal life, and an overall look over the Civil War.
The film, from beginning to end, is a visual masterpiece. Everything that was needed to present an accurate 19th century setting was there: the costumes, the decoration, the landscapes, and the accents. Director and producer Steven Spielberg -who spent 12 years researching for the film-, as well as screen-writer Tony Kushner delivered us the 19th century America as it was.
"Chapeau bas" for the acting. The actors did a job well done, perfectly portraying their historical characters. Tommy Lee Jones gave us one of the best performances of his career, making us love his kind-hearted badass character.
The overall performance was great, with a really good job by the supporting cast, but Daniel Day-Lewis was on a different level. The dude is an unsung miracle. During the whole 2 hours 30 minutes of the movie, not once have I thought of the actor. He made me believe he was Abraham Lincoln, portraying the deeply in-pain family man, yet the strong and responsible president. And personally, the fact that he played Bill "The Butcher" Cutting in Gangs of New York, who opposed Lincoln's political plans, makes me appreciate his performance even more.
Better than history books and lessons, this movie brings us details needed to understand Lincoln's last months. Honestly, even though I knew how the movie will end, I didn't want it to end that way. That's probably due to the Daniel Day-Lewis effect, making us love a president from a foreign country and a different century. The movie is definitely a 2012 must watch.