Very Nicely Done

Rating: 8/10 (14 January 2013)

The best thing about LINCOLN, to me, is how personal and intimate it is. Other than a few seconds at the very start, there are no active Civil War battles on screen, and the film does not try to be an exhaustive all-encompassing biography of Abraham Lincoln. Rather, it stays mostly in Washington D.C. and focuses on a brief, crucial block of time in history. I rather like Daniel Day-Lewis' performance; it's very nuanced, like the film built around it. The rest of the cast is quite good. I even enjoyed Tommy Lee Jones, whose manner I often find a bit exhausting. Very good screenplay and dialog. Some perfectly pitched and placed moments of humor. Personally, had I been the director, I would have ended it before the assassination, for a more even and fluid artistic conclusion. However, it's hard to fault much about this film. Spielberg adds yet another big line to his resume.