Lincoln Review

Justin and I saw Lincoln on November 23, 2012!! This is a sure fire Oscar nominee for Best Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Director, and Picture. It probably will have a couple of nominations for things such as make-up, costumes, etc, but this movie certainly deserves the nominations if it gets it. It basically follows Abraham Lincoln's presidency during the Civil War, and the battle to get the 13th Amendment passed. The 13th Amendment is what abolished slavery. As a fan of history, I was instantly hooked when I heard about this project and that Daniel Day Lewis was attached to it. Daniel Day Lewis is my favorite actor, and he looked hauntingly like him. He is a method actor, so it made sense to me that he would definitely work to resemble the look of the 16th President. He definitely did an excellent job throughout the movie delivering speeches, stories, and impassioned arguments that captured the essence of one of the greatest presidents in the history of the United States. One aspect that interested me was his ability to change gears from previous work. My favorite movie of all time is Gangs of New York, and in that movie DDL portrayed my favorite male movie character in Bill "The Butcher" Cutting. In that movie, he was against Abraham Lincoln's policies, and was also a supporter of Tammany Hall throughout the movie. It was interesting to see him come at it from the other perspective in the form of Honest Abe himself. In fact on the call sheets, he would be listed as Abraham Lincoln, and not Daniel Day Lewis. He is an awesome actor!! Sally Field did a phenomenal job capturing the personality of Mary Todd Lincoln particularly following the death of Willie, and her refusal to allow Robert to join the Union Army. She never fully recovered from the loss of her son, and Field captured that perfectly. It has been said that she suffered from schizophrenia, and various mental disorders. In fact, Robert actually committed her later in her life. Tommy Lee Jones balanced dramatic and comedic very well with his role as the voice of the Radical Republicans: Thaddeus Stevens. He gave the feeling of the old time Senator fighting for the 13th Amendment and waving the flag of the Republican party. In the sidelines, you have great appearances from actors like James Spader as W.N. Bilbo who was great as a man trying to steal votes to gain Democrat support, and providing some genuine comedy. I also really enjoyed the scenes where the House was debating on the amendment. It showed you the divide in the House, and how crucial a vote can be in Congress. The movie certainly demonstrated a nice American flavor adding to the intrigue of one of the United State's greatest men that ever lived in my opinion. I fully expect the movie to get the nominations I listed, and hopefully if that happens some wins. Brilliant performances, great dialogue, and a fantastic cast make this a 5/5!!