Lincoln (7.5)

Honest Abe is on the big screen twice this year, but this time around he's not slaying any vampires.  Instead, he is played by one of the most infamous actors in hollywood today, the glorified Daniel Day Lewis. With a host of other superb actors all under the direction of Steven Spielberg, can this movie possibly go wrong?

Plot:  
Set during the the last few months of Abraham Lincoln's life as president of the United States, the story follows Lincoln's incredible struggle to free American slaves through passing the 13th amendment while trying to end a civil war. 

My Thoughts:
Until this movie, I have never had the chance to see Daniel Day Lewis act on the big screen.  Now that I have, it's truly unforgettable.  Lewis is one of, if not the most dedicated actor in hollywood; totally obsessed with his roles in film.  He is nothing short of captivating; so (seemingly) effortlessly becoming the 16th President of the United States, embodying all of his strengths, weaknesses, struggles, joys, and trials.  It is a masterpiece, as is Tommy Lee Jones performance as Thaddeus Stevens.  Jones was almost as equally moving, and it was a shame the two characters only shared one scene, (but what a great scene it was.)

Acting across the board was easily the best part of this movie.  I'll go ahead and list a few names: Sally Field, David Strathairn, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, Lee Pace, Tim Blake Nelson, and John Hawkes all were incredible.  I really believe that casting is Spielberg's greatest ability in filmmaking.  I can't think of anyone else that can cast actors for their roles better then he can.

The next best aspect of Lincoln was cinematography.  The director of cinematography was Janusz Kaminski, who is quite literally the best.  He did Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, The Terminal, Catch Me If You Can, etc, but even with all those under his belt, I dare say Lincoln was possibly his best work.  One shot in particular, in which President Lincoln walks away after dictating a letter to two young scribes, had me tearing up.  This was definitely my favorite scene in the whole movie.

So, why didn't I love the movie?  That's right, I sure didn't.  I liked the film, but I didn't love it.  After all, all the "technical" stuff was flawless; perfect acting, beautiful cinematography, no plot holes, (It's history so, that's pretty easy), and great music.  So what was the problem?  

Direction.  The overall direction of the film just did not grip me.  Lots, lots, lots of monologues that, while fun explorations of Daniel Day Lewis's acting talents, bored the progression.  Too much political bickering that, while gripping during the House of Representative debates, was pretty boring.  And that's at least 95% of the film: talking.  Not just talking, but talking about the exact same problem; how to end the war and slavery at the same time.  Watch the first half of the trailer below; the dialogue you hear there is all you'll hear for about two hours.

So in conclusion, you're left with a film that has incredible actors saying the same thing and talking about the same thing...it needed to go somewhere.  But instead, scriptwriter Tony Kushner filled the time with political arguments between political figures, saying the same quotes akin to, "Focus on ending the war, not slaves!",  "You can't have it both ways!", "Slaves don't deserve to be free!" etc, etc.  However, when the movie shined was when Tommy Lee Jones or Daniel Day Lewis were in the center of the screen, completely captivating the audience with their passionate performances.

Rating: 7.5/10