Lincoln, the latest from Steven Spielberg, is the retelling of the last year of Abraham Lincoln's life, and his struggle to pass the 13th amendment.
The film succeeds, for the most part, on the 13th amendment part. However, Tony Kushner (the screenwriter), stretches the film's length for another 25 minutes. It is tedious and mostly unnecessary, but it is well-held together by Daniel Day-Lewis' portrayal of honest Abe.
Daniel Day-Lewis plays Lincoln not like a war hero, but a man that is graying and under much stress. Or, as he himself puts it, 'clothed under immense power'. He is the film's lead, and the only lead, and he holds it together quite well.
The supporting cast is led by Tommy Lee Jones as a disgruntled republican representative named Thaddeus Stevens. Jones steals every scene he is in, and fortunately he shares very little screen time with Day-Lewis. Mary Todd Lincoln, the first lady, is played by the (debatably miscast) Sally Field. Field's character is not the supportive wife, but a grieving hamper to Lincoln. Kushner wrote these characters as human beings, and it was nice of him to respect the audience's intelligence.
However, Kushner neglected the audience's patience. The film could have easily been axed to 2 hours and 10 minutes, instead of the overlong 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Spielberg has said in multiple interviews that he tries to model himself like David Lean. However, Lincoln is not modeled to compare as Spielberg respected: LEAN.
Still, check out this movie. The writing will be nominated, and the acting in general is superb.
3 STARS/4
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