A classy showing by director and star

Rating: 8/10 (21 February 2013)

Biography films almost always struggle with finding the balance between showing off their portrayals of historical figures and focusing on the actual story being told. Lincoln gets it about perfect. We are treated to both a riveting performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, and the rest of the cast for that matter, whilst stealing absolutely no focus from the amazing tale about the end of the Civil war and how Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves.
Daniel Day-Lewis is known as being a modern-day master of acting. He doesn't appear in many films, but when he does it's a real treat. He immerses himself in his characters and the audience reaps the rewards. He was so convincing as Lincoln I often had to remind myself I was watching a movie and not a real-footage documentary. Tommy Lee Jones' unflinching performance was also a real treat and the pair of the them should nab themselves an Academy Award for their performances over the weekend, with Christoph Waltz being the only possible exception to take home Best Supporting Actor. Sally Field is also nominated for an award but I have to say she didn't blow me away, even though I hear her performance was a fairly accurate depiction of Mrs Lincoln. I just feel she didn't nail her emotional scenes and really make me feel for her over the lose of her son.
After a slightly slow start the two and half hour film does tend to race by. Director Steven Spielberg's beautiful film-making style shines through and the story is told at a wonderful pace, with magnificent performances. There will always be those that nit-pick over a few historical inaccuracies, but I can't see even them bringing this film down at all. It will probably just lose out to Argo in the Best Picture category this weekend, but if it were down to just these two I'd have to narrowly give my vote to Lincoln.