Wonderfully crafted performances highlight this Oscar-bait period drama

Rating: 8/10 (3 December 2012)

After the 16th President of the United States was somewhat lampooned earlier this year as he chopped off the heads of vampires, Steven Spielberg was finishing work on a more serious look at Honest Abe, aptly title "Lincoln", and though it may lack the action of Vamp Abe it is certainly every bit as powerful in its portrayal of a torn nation, and the man who will stop at nothing to bring it back together. The intensity in the film is drawn from heated conversations about slavery and the Civil War, and this word-sparring is stuff for the ages as a whole host of famous faces get screen time to connive and throw insults across the House of Representatives floor. Tommy Lee Jones is stellar as a Republican whose verbose insults are like bolts of electricity jumping out of the screen. But of course it is Daniel Day-Lewis who offers up yet another transforming performance as the titular character. His mannerisms, voice, look, and style give us not just a character, but another person entirely. He channels the spirit of Lincoln in every form and fashion, and it's scary-good to watch. He'll be in a familiar place come time for the Best Actor nominations to be passed out.
-Thomas Bond