Lincoln (2012)
Certified: PG
Duration: 150 minutes
Directed: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Jared Harris, Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Lee Pace, Hal Holbrook
KRS release
Steven Spielberg has a knack for delivering historical films that are message driven and epic in feel.
Spielberg manages to transcend the danger of making this film just a checklist of well-known facts
The Colour Purple (1985) was his first real attempt at a historical epic but he mastered the genre with Schindler’s List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998).
Lincoln is successful in its vision, execution and interpretation.
This film should go down extremely well with Academy Award voters, history buffs and an audience that wants a ‘complete’ film.
Lincoln is set in January 1865 when Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) is about to start his second term as President. The Civil War is on and he is facing tough times, both politically and on a family level.
Lincoln’s wife, Mary (Sally Field), to whom he is so devoted, is distraught from losing a child. He has a very young son Tad (Gulliver McGrath) and his oldest son Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) wants to join the army to fight in the war. The North’s side (or the Union – the federal government of the US) is led by General Grant (Jared Harris).
Lincoln wants to bring the war to a swift end; his main agenda and the main bone of contention which started the Civil War is the abolition of slavery.
Supported by the Republican House Ways and Means Committee chairman Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones), Lincoln holds that slavery goes against the 13th Amendment. However, he faces opposition from congressman Fernando Wood (Lee Pace). So Secretary of State William Seward (David Strathairn) gets Robert Latham (John Hawkes), Richard Schell (Tim Blake Nelson) and William N. Bilboe (James Spader) to try and convince those who are undecided or on the fringes in the House to give their support.
Lincoln is also being opposed by Republican Francis Preston Blair (Hal Holbrook) who is trying to negotiate peace terms with the South. This places Lincoln in a quandary: stop the war or press on and get the Bill passed?
This Abraham Lincoln is the real deal, unlike the tongue-in-cheek pulpish look at Abe in the recent Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The film is also different from The Conspirator (2010) which told the tale through the eyes of those who conspired to murder him.
The film freezes a moment in time and gives us a look at the President, his motives and the historical era.
Spielberg manages to transcend the mistake of making this film just a checklist of well-known facts and thus belittling the whole experience. Instead, he captures the atmosphere of the time, making the film work as both a political thriller and a historical biopic.
Day-Lewis is the star of the film while the supporting cast gives him the balance he needs to carry the weight of such a personality on screen. This is the kind of performance that usually ends up garnishing an Oscar and here it would be entirely justified.
To be singled out among the cast are Jones and Field, who give the film added shades.
Lincoln is also a good-looking film. This is especially due to Janusz Kaminski’s cinematography with whom Spielberg has collaborated on nearly all his films since Schindler’s List. The light sources are positioned in such a way as to make the film look like a painting coming to life.
Special screening
Euro Media Forum, in collaboration with Eden Cinemas and the US Embassy, are organising a special screening followed by a discussion on Abraham’s Lincoln political career.
Speakers from the US Embassy in Malta, Thomas Schmidt and Nathan Austin, will delve into the American and European socioeconomic and political scenario at the time when Lincoln became President.
The discussion will also focus on Lincoln’s influence on today’s human rights legislation and leading politicians.
The special screening will take place at the Eden Cinemas on Friday at 5.30pm.
For more information, visit the Euro Media Forum Facebook page.