Lincoln

Dropping in theaters just after a presidential election that wouldn’t have been possible without Lincoln’s reforms, the timing for Spielberg’s long gestating project couldn’t be better. Though he gives old Abe human dimensions, Spielberg isn’t above painting Lincoln in nothing but heroic hues. That’s how history and popular culture remember him, despite the possibility that Lincoln himself was racist.

Suggestions remain that Lincoln ended slavery not so much for humanist reasons as for economic gain. However, to explore such rumors would prove too controversial and complex for any director, so nobody’s going to hold it against Spielberg for unquestionably going with the widely accepted flow.

Spielberg does a remarkable job breathing life into the figure immortalized in the Lincoln Memorial, showing us a man in turmoil who deserves our awe and respect, if only for the path he laid down. Although the film only covers Lincoln during a fraction of his term, it’s a definitive moment, when the pressures of war leave their mark on both his presidency and his home.

Lincoln’s eldest son (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, barely making an impression) is eager to jump into the front lines, giving the president more reason to seek a peaceful compromise with the Confederacy. Losing yet another son (two died previously) would prove too devastating for him and his wife (Sally Field), both still grieving in the public eye. However, negotiating a settlement with the South would mean sacrificing hopes to pass the 13th amendment, since lobbyists can’t sell freeing slaves unless the possibility of ending the war hinges on it.

Those are the stakes in a movie that plays like a backroom political thriller. Tony Kushner’s screenplay pulls off a daring feat, condensing all the bureaucratic bits and pieces into a tightly wound narrative that (at two-and-a-half hours) rarely lags. There are plenty of moments when Spielberg lays it on thick, but they are balanced by some genuinely moving exchanges and a willingness to have fun with the Great Emancipator, who, according to this movie, isn’t above bribing, coercing and outright lying to get his way.

As Thaddeus Stevens, Tommy Lee Jones uses his reptilian growl and acid tongue for some great scenery chewing. He’s a highlight among a solid supporting cast. But the man who will lead this movie’s march on Oscar night is Daniel Day-Lewis.

The movie is far less interesting when it wanders out of his orbit. It’s no surprise that the actor behind There Will Be Blood’s Daniel Plainview would astonish as Lincoln. He may not be doing anything as wildly entertaining as drinking a Confederate’s milkshake, but his performance manages to be marvelous without resorting to grand theatricality.

We often see Day-Lewis’ Lincoln slowly working his way through amusing anecdotes, much to the comical dismay of his aides, who are clearly familiar with this as the politician’s tactics. With every calculated speech or gentle outburst, you forget the actor and embrace the president. Capturing Lincoln’s subtle movements, gestures, cadences (through research) and filling in the gaps between with pure brilliance, Day-Lewis delivers a performance that has blood in its veins. For that alone, Lincoln will have sway over voters. Oscar voters, that is.