![]() It also shows Lincoln perfectly being what he really was: a politician. While I was a bit underwhelmed early on, the performance really took off during and after the scene in which he has an argument with his wife, over their son enlisting in the army and mention of him previously considering having Mary Todd committed to an asylum, adding to the tragedy of his life, and showing that essentially, he was fighting a war on two fronts. And yes, as I speculated in an article months ago, some of his more spicy humor does indeed make it in, regarding a certain “George Washington” joke. ![]() This also allows his humor and extensive story-telling (which becomes a running joke throughout) to catch us off-guard a bit. While mostly remaining stoic, we do get a chance to see the first complete, humanist portrayal of America’s sixteenth president. During the film, we see him go through nearly every human emotion: happiness, humor, anger, and frustration. To start on the actual cast, I will affirm what the critics have said: Daniel Day-Lewis becomes Abraham Lincoln with his performance. That was why it was so important for these characters to breathe life into the history, because this film potentially has a chance to reach the largest audience for a Civil War film since Gone with the Wind in 1939. Based on the reviews so far, it seems to have avoided that, and thankfully so, because this is a film that needs to do well from the Civil War genre perspective. If it was not for them collectively bringing their acting levels up a notch, Lincoln probably would have went the way of every other recent historical drama: tons of promise but a box office failure, despite drawing praise from history buffs, but ire from everyone else. I actually wanted to see much more of Pace as Fernando Wood due to his grand style of oration in the debate scenes, and had he gotten a larger look, he probably could have received consideration for a supporting actor Oscar-the same could be said for Spader and Strathairn, who have much more screen-time. ![]() Everyone has mentioned Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, and Tommy Lee Jones as being shoe-ins for Oscar nods, and I agree with that assessment, but forgotten after those three are the performances of Lee Pace, James Spader, David Strathairn, and Hal Holbrook, all of whom are exceptional. Luckily, though, the caliber of the cast helps to transform the dialogue and bring it to life, and sometimes, we forget we are even watching a movie. Not to say that this is a dull film, because it is not, and is filled with complexity and enlivening dialogue, but as an actor once told me when it comes to Civil War films, “One bearded guy giving a speech to a bunch of bearded guys in one scene looks exactly the same to the general public as another bearded guy giving a speech to a bunch of bearded guys in the next one.” I feel that it would be unfair to use that quote to classify exactly what Lincoln is, but due to the fact that this film is entirely dialogue-driven, and lasts nearly two hours and a half, it might be a bit tough for some people to get through. Before I get into this review, I want to say right off the bat that I think this film might be very difficult for anyone other than a history or Civil War buff to truly enjoy. ![]() Where do I begin? This was a film that I had so many expectations for, and most of them were met.
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