Lincoln

Movie Name: Lincoln
Year of Release: 2012

Director: Steven Spielberg

Stars: 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, Jared Harris, Joseph Cross, Lee Pace, Gulliver McGrath, Michael Stuhlbarg, Stephen Spinella, Walton Goggins, Lukas Haas, Julie White, Wayne Duvall, S. Epatha Merkerson

Genre: Drama

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6

Synopsis:

Following the disappointing "War Horse", Steven Spielberg returns, this time tackling an historical figure of the United States of America, president Abraham Lincoln. The film follows the specific time in the president's life, when the civil war was already raging on and Mr. Lincoln was trying to pass the 13th Amendment and end slavery across the country. The film focuses on the process of how the peace arrangement between the two divided sides and the Amendment were played out, and showcases the devastating effects that the civil war had on the country.
Steven Spielberg has at this point directed so many interesting and unique films, that each of his efforts are always greeted with applause and excitement. For the most part his latest features have been worth that acclaim, though the director at times falls prey of producing the "right shots" and the "right themes", and building films that are more targeted for "awards consideration". If "War Horse" was a film clearly built as a manipulative vehicle, "Lincoln" though at times treading a similar path, it definitely veers in a more political overtone, mostly thanks to the extremely intelligent script of Tony Kushner (who previously worked with Spielberg on the underrated "Munich" and who wrote the superb "Angels in America"). The film also benefits from a fantastic cast, one where the great performances from Daniel Day Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones and James Spader are positively indelible, and where Sally Field takes the path of overacting to a level of stumbling mediocrity (as the story progresses, it does feel that she's in a different film than the rest of the cast). The cinematography is beautiful as is usual the case with Janusz Kaminski, the same going for the look and feel of the entire film (the production design of Rick Carter). A flawed, yet interesting film.