An Incredible History Lesson!

Rating: 9/10 (2 May 2014)

For those of you who do not enjoy history or politics, I wouldn't watch this film. But for once, there is a historically accurate and rather entertaining film based on one of the greatest Presidents of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. This film will take you behind the scenes and in the mind of "Honest Abe" as he tries to pass the Thirteenth Amendment in Congress. This film is beautiful film in many regards. It has blissful cinematography, a subtle but great score by John Williams, great direction by Steven Spielberg, and just top-notch, amazing acting.
Spielberg directed a story about Abe which focused mainly in the last few months of his life. As the Civil War drags on, there is a battle between Lincoln's 13th Amendment which will end slavery and Democrats in Congress who are supporting the end of the war and not the bill.
The one thing that carries a film like this is the acting and everyone puts on an acting clinic here. Let's start with Daniel-Day Lewis, the greatest actor of our generation. The passion he brings to each project is amazing and because of Daniel, we see what kind of man Abe was. I want to say this is his best role, but every role he's done, they just been so amazing. All I can say is that he deserves his Oscar for this film. Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens is wonderful and another great performance. Sally Field brings emotional depth as Mary Todd Lincoln in her amazing performance. We get good performances from Joseph-Gordon Levitt, David Strathairn, Hal Holbrook, James Spader, and so on. Such a wonderful cast assembled for this film.
Overall, Lincoln is a politically-rich film, but we see the man Abe was as he was always telling stories, no matter his stress. He was a man with a sharp tongue and always had a plan. We see the fragile complexion of Mary Todd as she cares for her family. This is a passion project by Spielberg and through his direction of the film, we can tell. For those of you expecting action, don't watch this. It's very political and there are lots of a dialog, some which may seem dry. But, I was hooked on to every single word. This film brings emotion to the film and if this was not a movie, Lewis would be a perfect Lincoln. I rate this film 9/10.