A modern masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (23 November 2012)

Making a film about Abraham Lincoln is no simple task for a variety of reasons. Lincoln, the man and the story, is such a complex layering of accounts and instances and points-of-view that to try to portray each and all of these in a film would be a fools errand. But if any filmmaker is capable of portraying several of these as well as possibly imaginable, it is Steven Spielberg, and if any actor is capable of bringing this role to life, it is Daniel Day-Lewis.
That being said, it is worth noting that this film is probably the most acting and dialogue driven Spielberg has ever made. This film is a very surprising take on Lincoln, because of how Lincoln has been thought of in the past and because of how he is portrayed to us in history classes. Lincoln is traditionally thought of as a man who was eloquent and grand, most likely because of his appearance and his height. However, as indicated by historical accounts, Lincoln is portrayed in this film as a humble midwestern man who was plainspoken and sincere. He is shown to be a jokester and a storyteller. Day-Lewis does an excellent job of humanizing Lincoln and taking our perception of him from Lincoln, the president and historical figure, to Abe the man.
Equally as impressive as Day-Lewis' performance was Tommy Lee Jones' portrayal of Thaddeus Stevens. Jones' task was, in a way, made even more difficult by the fact that he had to play an old, world weary man while the same could be said of Lincoln himself. He had to, in many ways, parallel Lincoln and be his incarnation in the House of Representatives while still being his own character, and I cannot say that he could have done a better job.
We have been waiting a long time for Spielberg to do a serious historical film in the likes of Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List. In a way, this is his grand return to that stage.