There are few films that can handle the burden of great emotional and historical significance without veering into the realm of mellow-drama, but with the magical touch of director Steven Spielberg, one movie has been able to achieve this goal.
DreamWorks Studios’ “Lincoln,” starring Daniel Day-Lewis as the 16th president of the U.S. deals with one of the most heroic and stirring eras in American history and is executed with elegance.
The film follows the tense last months of Lincoln’s life and his efforts to push the 13th Amendment to outlaw slavery and involuntary servitude through a contrary and fiercely partisan House of Representatives, is adapted from Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.”
The movie shows a revealing and poignant look at a country in crisis and at the brave men who guided it through it.
Lincoln’s ethos and machinations are the philosophical backbone of the film, and the role of the Great Emancipator only fell to Day-Lewis after actor Liam Neeson pulled out of the project.
There is a real danger in presenting Lincoln that his idiosyncrasies can snowball into a cartoonish morass, but Day-Lewis is locked into the person of Abraham Lincoln, focused in his portrayal and in command of every tic and nuance of the performance that the effect is stunning.
Not a second passes by onscreen where Day-Lewis is anything but the breathing, living and flesh-and-blood embodiment of the nation’s greatest president.
The supporting cast isn’t given the opportunity to shine as brightly as Day-Lewis, but there are notable and commendable performances all around.
David Strathairn plays Secretary of State William Seward, Lincoln’s closest friend and confidant. He carries out the role with nobility and wit, but the deep and profound bond between these two is lacking.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the odd man out as he is cast as the stiff, stereotypically adolescent role of Lincoln’s eldest son, Robert Todd. Apart from the transcendent performance of Day-Lewis as Lincoln, the true standout is Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln.
Field tackles the complex and wide-ranged role with ferocity. The White House fight between Mary Todd and Lincoln toward the end of the movie may rate as one of the most wrenching and powerful scenes from a film in years.
This historical period is faithfully and grittily reenacted and the musical score is haunting — the film was built to fail or succeed almost solely based on the performance of Day-Lewis.
Thanks to his execution, it manages to succeed in dealing with the gravitas and momentousness of the weighty historical circumstances, and convey a profoundly human sentiment in every scene.
“Lincoln,” especially in the performances of Day-Lewis and Field, is strong across the board and deserves to be recognized as one of the greatest historical films.
