The simplicity of greatness

Rating: 8/10 (21 February 2013)

I don't know many details about Abraham Lincoln's presidency so I came into "Lincoln" unburdened by historical facts. There were some expectations though, considering the director is Steven Spielberg, and they ended up completely fulfilled. The film begins in the midst of the Civil War and follows Lincoln's attempt to bring an end to it, as well as to slavery, and the difficulties he faced doing it, ending with his death after the assassination at Ford's Theatre.
The real focus of the film is on Lincoln's battle with slavery. While most of the other politicians just wanted the war to end, he postponed the peace arrangements, risking their failure, in order to get the thirteenth amendment (which abolishes slavery) passed by the United States House of Representatives (also known as the House). It is in itself a controversial decision and the means which he used in doing all of that are even more so. He stalled the Confederacy negotiators, made some members of his party lie about their beliefs and even bought votes from Democrats promising them better positions. It was interesting to see the most loved American president doing things for which anyone would be condemned today. The other unusual and refreshing thing to see was portrayal of the Lincoln as an ordinary man. Although (as I later learned) he came from a poor family and was mostly self-educated, it was surprising to see a man of such importance presented as a funny storytelling commoner. Of course, his decisive nature and strong leadership weren't omitted, which only contributed to the impressiveness of the character.
Most of the credits for making Lincoln as compelling as he is nevertheless go to Daniel Day-Lewis. Once again he proved his versatility and ability to become one with the character giving a performance so minute and delicate, and at the same time so powerful that one could easily watch just him for 150 minutes (film's running time). He's aided by a brilliant cast of supporting actors including James Spader, Tommy Lee Jones, David Strathairn, John Hawkes, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jared Harris, Jackie Earle Haley and Michael Stuhlbarg among the rest. Sally Field's performance as Lincoln's wife Mary was not so good as the hype suggests but still helped keep the standard high.
The technical side of the film, as was expected from Spielberg's work, is flawless. Cinematography (Janusz Kaminski), editing (Michael Kahn), production design (Rick Carter), costume design (Joanna Johnston) and of course, music by John Williams, all made the long film as easy watch as can be and a pleasing experience for both eyes and ears.
Spielberg made a film about a very well known, but also a very important, character and an equally known and important episode from American history. It was a safe bet from the beginning and the screenplay from Tony Kushner, his Munich collaborator, just solidified it. However, it feels more as an exploration of the way politics work than as an ode to freedom, and the question remains whether this was Spielberg's intention. The main problem of the film is that it doesn't bring anything new. There is a little bit more humor than expected but other than that all classic Spielberg characteristics are in place: strong characters, simple plot, a touch of melodrama, great acting, impressive visuals, touching music, and so on. Unfortunately that stopped being enough some time ago.
There is no doubt that "Lincoln" is a very good film. If only Spielberg had the courage of his main character to impose a change where it is an absolute necessity it would have been great. This way we have nothing to do but to enjoy Day-Lewis' magnificent performance and hope that the great director's next film won't be just for the people but also for the history.
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