|
Lincoln
| Released |
25 January 2013 |
| Director |
Steven Spielberg |
Starring
|
Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, Tommy Lee Jones, John Hawkes, Jackie Earle Haley, Bruce McGill, Tim Blake Nelson, Joseph Cross, Jared Harris |
| Writer(s) |
Tony Kushner |
Producer(s)
|
Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg |
| Origin |
United States |
| Running Time |
151 minutes |
| Genre |
Drama, biography, history |
| Rating |
12A |
|
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Monumental.
The role of Abraham Lincoln, more marble monument than flesh and blood in the public consciousness, is a very good fit for Daniel Day-Lewis. Reaching near mythic status himself for the style in which his own personality is completely subsumed by the role he is playing, one definitely feels that if anyone could conjure a walking, talking, feeling man from this Great Emancipator, it is Day-Lewis.
Some historical documentation on Lincoln’s reportedly nasal voice and an idea of his physicality aside, Day-Lewis had little to work with. The character of Lincoln that appears on the screen is a creation but it is an impeccably believable one. So believable in fact, that I forgot I was watching a performance. For those two and a half hours, Day-Lewis IS Lincoln - his softly spoken, cracked Southern tone and the slightly stooped gait of a man who has always had to look down on those around him, have a grain of truth about them. He also gives a warmth to Lincoln that belies the stern countenance we might recognise, making him wonderful company. Day-Lewis’ triumph at the Golden Globes was well deserved (as I’m sure his Oscar will be).
But it is not the only award the film deserves. Tony Kushner’s screenplay, adapted from Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, is a remarkable achievement. Based on only a small section of the source book, we meet an aging Lincoln as he attempts to pass the unpopular amendment to end slavery, while also dealing with the bloody final stages of the Civil War. A film essentially about vote-grubbing shouldn’t be this entertaining, but the script plays through the complicated procedures of the burgeoning United States political system with great eloquence and delicacy, while also providing the impressive supporting cast with dialogue that sparkles. Tommy Lee Jones and James Spader in particular benefit from Kushner’s witty words.
Spielberg meanwhile, holds his direction in check, so that it is sumptuous without being glossy. Thankfully, while being an affectionate portrait of a man in difficult times, it is never gushing and only the occasional swell of John Williams’ score threatens at sentimentality. The finished product is a historical film that is neither staid nor stuffy, as these cinematic legends do great justice to a political one.
-
Linda O’Brien |
