while a little formulaic, Lincoln is a powerful tale of one of the greatest Americans to ever live

Rating: 9/10 (13 November 2012)

One of four faces on Mount Rushmore. The image on the American five dollar bill and the penny. The inspiration behind the naming of several major cities and the motto for the state of Illinois. The 16th president of the United States and the man who fought tirelessly to end slavery in our country. Abraham Lincoln is without a doubt one of the most renowned and beloved Americans to ever live.
And who better to play the role of our great leader than one of the most beloved and celebrated actors living today: Daniel Day-Lewis. A two time Academy Award winner and four time nominee, Day-Lewis is known for his powerful and moving performances in films such as There Will Be Blood, My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, Gangs of New York, and The Last of the Mohicans. Considered by many to be the greatest actor working today, it is always a pleasure to watch Day-Lewis perform on screen, especially in the case of Lincoln.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, Lincoln is the story of the last few months of the life of Abraham Lincoln. Centering specifically on the end of the Civil War and the effort to pass the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which would abolish slavery, Lincoln is a deep character study into the life of our 16th President and the people close to him in his late life.
Day-Lewis headlines an all-star cast that includes Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, David Stathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, John Hawkes, Tim Blake Nelson, Hal Holbrook, Jared Harris, and Jackie Earle Haley, just to name two handfuls. With a cast like this, there is no doubt that Lincoln is one of the most anticipated films of the year. And with the execution, I would also anticipate many award nominations in the coming months.
The easy nominees to anticipate come from the cast. I'll get to Daniel Day-Lewis in a moment, but let me start with a few of the other major performances in this film. Having both won Academy Awards far before stepping on the set of Lincoln, it is no surprise for me to say that Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones are both fantastic in this film. Field plays the troubled yet loyal wife of Lincoln, Mary Todd, and Jones plays the Representative Thaddeus Stevens, a major enthusiast for the end of slavery. Playing two very strong, unpredictable, and outgoing individuals, both roles demand each of the performers to be on the top of their game, and neither disappoint. Field is sympathetic and sometimes terrifying as Mary Todd and Jones is vicious yet heartfelt as Stevens. These performances are the glue that holds everything together after the film's star, and are incredibly necessary for the film to succeed.
But let's not kid ourselves. This is Daniel Day-Lewis's film. Portraying one of the most iconic Americans to ever live, it is amazing to watch this film and forget that you are even watching Day-Lewis act. From the opening credits to the closing screens, Day-Lewis is not even in this movie. He is missing and all that is to be seen is Abraham Lincoln. In one moment I actually took myself out of the mesmerizing performance to remind myself that this is the same soft- spoken actor that played Daniel Plainview and Bill the Butcher. Daniel Day-Lewis is known for performing so brilliantly that you forget he is actually the one acting in the film, and it is no different in Lincoln. It takes a brilliant mind and talent to be able to remind us how wonderful a famous icon was, but Day-Lewis does just that. As Abraham Lincoln tells us another parable or gives words of inspiration to soldiers and members of his cabinet, we are reminded how amazing our 16th President is, and that is a credit to Day-Lewis. We have all read and learned hundreds of facts about Abraham Lincoln and have seen countless men portray him in plays, movies, and television, but Daniel Day-Lewis is the actor Lincoln deserves. With a powerful, emotional, poised, and moving performance, we are reminded in the same moments of the greatness of both Abraham Lincoln and Daniel Day-Lewis. It is a performance that must be seen.
To read the rest of the review (IMDb form too short) visit: http://custodianfilmcritic.com/lincoln/