Not the most accessible of films, but still a great one

Rating: 9/10 (3 March 2013)

Much of Stephen Spielberg's output I do like very much. Not all his films post-Saving Private Ryan have been great, but there have been a handful that have been and Lincoln is one of them. I can though understand why some wouldn't like it, the first hour is lengthy and slow as well as quite talky. I think it may also depend on how much you know about Abraham Lincoln and the 13th Amendment, in the case of my mother she found the film interesting but because she didn't know much about the subject she didn't always find it easy to follow.
Admittedly my knowledge of it consists of knowing the basic facts but not the full picture. I cannot say whether it stretches the truth or whether it is accurate, but that wouldn't have mattered much to me as I found myself captivated. Lincoln is not a flawless film, aside from the slow pacing in the first half I did feel that more could have been done with the ending, that had potential to be very moving but the idea to have something else going on during that fateful event and then rushing through the aftermath for me undermined the emotional impact and how much we cared about what happened. Of course we do, here though we just don't have enough time to express it.
That said, it is a very well made film, and Spielberg directs superbly. The sets, costumes and atmosphere look both gritty and beautiful, and everything is very evocative. The battle scenes are scarce but, the beginning scene in particular, there are hints of the gut-wrenching realism that we saw in Saving Private Ryan. John Williams' score is haunting and understated. There may not be a main theme that everybody will remember strictly speaking but Williams has always had the ability to boost a bad/not-so-good film a notch or two and I cannot deny how beautifully composed the score for Lincoln is.
Lincoln is very well written as well. There is a lot of dialogue, but it is very rich and intelligent with the verbal sway in the courtroom also entertaining. The story picks up after the first half, which still had its interesting points, don't get me wrong, with the courtroom scenes compelling(the final one when the Amendment is passed was the best one) and the scene with Lincoln and his wife talking about the loss of their son affecting without being too mawkish. And I think those who lost a loved one but don't talk about their grief will really relate to it, it may not be the case for some but that was the vibe I got from watching that scene in Lincoln.
Daniel Day Lewis is mesmerising, he won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance and it was more than well-deserved. He had a difficult task of trying to make a major historical figure authentic. He does that just by his enigmatic presence and penetrating eyes alone, it is a very authoritative and thoughtful performance. He is very well supported by a large- perhaps by some people too large- cast. Some can have a tendency to speak it a little too quickly but the intent is there and I can definitely understand why, having to do assessed college presentations I've been in that boat. Sally Field makes the most of a rather unsympathetic role, which may have been a reason for why some didn't like her performance, I thought she gave her all and her rapport with Day Lewis is strong. Tommy Lee Jones has the juiciest dialogue of the film(some of it had me quietly chuckling actually), and he relishes it in one of his best supporting performances in recent years.
Overall, a great film but understandably it is one that not everybody is going to be thrilled by. 9/10 Bethany Cox