Exceptional Performances - Lincoln and the Abolition of Slavery are Distinctly American

Rating: 10/10 (22 January 2013)

There's a scene in the movie Lincoln where Daniel Day-Lewis, as the 16th US President, asks his communication aides about their perspective on leadership. "Do you think we choose the times into which we are born?," Daniel Day-Lewis, as Abraham Lincoln, asks two young workers in the telegraph office. This question, of course, makes Abraham Lincoln a compelling leader and an American character for the ages. He is as important to American history as Julius Ceasar is to the story of Rome. As we know, in retrospect, someone in the course of American history had to tackle the evil bondage of slavery and the scourge it continues to imprint on our nation's legacy. Lincoln's biography presents an unlikely leader, but his vision of a nation free of slavery was relentless. Daniel Day Lewis is exceptional in his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln. It goes without saying, this Spielberg movie is a classic. There are no embellishments whatsoever in the plot. Lincoln was driven to pass the 13th Amendment before the South surrendered, regardless of what it cost which, of course, was the root cause of his violent death by gun violence at Ford's Theater in Washington DC on April 15, 1865. It would be ideal if this movie were required viewing for all Americans; but, especially for politicians, who face the challenging decisions of their times. Other exceptional performances include Tommy Lee Jones as Congressman Thaddeus Stevens and Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln. My hope is for "Lincoln" to take its place as one of the greatest American movies ever made.