Most movies about a person from history are either a sweeping epic that spans his or her entire life or an intimate drama that focuses on a short period of time. When I heard Steven Spielberg, who for years had labored to direct a movie about Abraham Lincoln, intended to tell the story about the last four months of the 16th president’s life, I thought he was making a mistake. If anyone deserved the grand treatment, it was Lincoln.
Well, Spielberg made the movie he set out to do, and it is grand in every sense of the word. By concentrating on those four months, Spielberg avoided the necessity of using broad strokes, and instead was able to paint, in exquisite detail, the many things that make Lincoln a man worth honoring.
As “Lincoln” opens, the president is struggling to end the Civil War and emancipate the slaves. Both are heavy burdens, with neither seeming possible if the other is to happen, and both involving tense battles on many fronts. Spielberg and his actor, Daniel Day Lewis, show Lincoln to be a deliberate and unyielding man who could silence a room with a random anecdote or shake it to its foundation with a powerful grouping of words.
I was especially struck by how Lincoln never forgot his humble roots. If what Spielberg, writer Tony Kuschner and Lewis portray is true, Lincoln was just as comfortable talking with a telegram clerk as he was with his cabinet about the historic implications of his work.
“Lincoln” doesn’t waver from the unpleasant aspects of the presidency or the personal life of its subject. To secure enough votes to abolish slavery, Lincoln had to pull off some tricky moves behind closed doors and do a lot of favors for Democrats. Spielberg invests these scenes with a lot of energy, and it’s incredibly fun to watch the political manipulation. Lincoln did what was necessary to accomplish something in which he believed, and emerged from the fray morally justified.
At home, Lincoln is shown to be a loving and doting father to his youngest son, but cold and distant toward his oldest boy, Robert, who wants to join the war effort. Lincoln’s wife, Mary Lincoln Todd, puts tremendous emotional pressure on Lincoln to keep Robert from signing up. We see Lincoln strike Robert, and in one scene, his body seems to contort from the energy it takes him to keep from hitting his wife as well.
While the story of “Lincoln” is fascinating, this is an actor’s movie. Lewis is a lock for the Best Actor Oscar. In every frame, he appears as though he’s carrying the weight of history on his shoulders, and the agony of every decision Lincoln had to make is etched into his face. The physical transformation of Lewis into Lincoln is remarkable, but so are Lewis’ mannerisms and timing. While watching, you’ll feel as though you’re looking through a window back in time. I love how Spielberg shoots Lewis in long shots with no cuts, allowing the actor to muscle his way through big chunks of complex dialogue without pausing and the audience to simply sink into the moment. I would see “Lincoln” again just to watch Lewis.
I also hope Sally Fields as Lincoln’s wife and Tommy Lee Jones as Republican Congressional leader Thaddeus Stephens get supporting actor nods. Both deliver a marvelous performance.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Spielberg’s direction is how he gets out of the way and lets the story and actors shine. You’ll know this is his movie, though. I love how he lit the interiors – dimly and with muted daylight invading the rooms through windows. I love his clever staging of the scene in which Stephens returns home after the vote to pass the 13th Amendment. And I love the last shot of the movie, in which black and white people are mixed together behind Lincoln as the president gives an impassioned speech. With a single image, Spielberg communicates visually, and with stirring emotion, the most significant thing Lincoln accomplished.
I could write more about “Lincoln,” including a paragraph about the wonderfully amusing dialogue when the men in Congress are verbally ripping each other apart, but I’ll leave you with this: Having seen the movie, I have in my mind a picture of Lincoln not just as a great president, but also as a great man. And I feel as though I know him, which is a rare thing to say about someone who lived and died 145 years ago.
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and an intense scene of war violence. Four stars out of four. Email David Laprad at dlaprad@hamiltoncountyherald.com.