4/5 Popcorns 

“Lincoln” is a thinking-man’s movie. There are no grand-scale battles and few impassioned speeches. Instead, it’s an intimate window peering into the final months of arguably the most beloved president in American history.

Though it unfolds during the final year of the bloody Civil War, the subtle action lies in the dusty rooms of the White House and on the floor of the U.S. Capitol building. It’s not so much a biographical film as a historical play, featuring scene after intense scene of Lincoln’s internal struggle to achieve his two ultimate goals: ending the war and abolishing slavery once and for all.

Daniel Day-Lewis’ title performance is undeniably iconic. As one of the greatest actors of his generation, Day-Lewis takes method acting to the extreme. He embodies Honest Abe with stoic determination and a radiating compassion, unveiling the remarkable man underneath the gray-streaked beard and stovepipe hat.

Based loosely on the nonfiction bestseller “Team of Rivals” by Doris Kearns Goodwin, “Lincoln” features brilliant supporting performances from its giant ensemble cast, particularly Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones. Steven Spielberg breathes life and humor into a script full of lengthy monologues and dense prose — his animated direction takes a stuffy history lesson and renders it grippingly real.

Spielberg’s character study doesn’t need to rely on gritty war scenes or a secret life mowing down hordes of vampires. It’s a smart political drama led by Day-Lewis, who could carry the film all by himself.

The film picks up Lincoln’s story in January 1865 as he greets black and white union soldiers in a camp. Spielberg paints Lincoln as a father figure to all but his own eldest son, Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who loves telling long-winded stories with a witty punch line.

While Ulysses S. Grant (Jared Harris) is pushing the Confederacy toward surrender, Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward (David Strathairn) plan to pass the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery before the war ends.

Within Lincoln’s family, Sally Field gives a heartbreaking performance as his wife, a grief-stricken Mary Todd. Day-Lewis and Field’s furious bedroom arguments are transfixing, as the two master actors play off each other. Gordon-Levitt makes the most of his limited screen time, giving Robert Lincoln emotional depth and fragility. He shows he belongs in this cast’s elite company.

The main storyline in “Lincoln” is straightforward political maneuvering, watching Lincoln’s clever bureaucratic balancing act as he convinces enough representatives to support the official eradication of slavery in America.

Day-Lewis arguably gives the best performance of his award-winning career, inhabiting the great orator and cunning politician with a style all his own. He speaks in a high-pitched, wavering tone, which softens or erupts in anger, yet his expression is always one of deep contemplation. Lincoln moves around the White House in slow, lanky strides, wearing a faded tweed suit or draped in a wool blanket, bearing the weight of the world.

It’s the best-acted film of the year, but Jones shines brightest as stalwart Republican politician Thaddeus Stevens. Sporting a bad limp and a ridiculous wig, Jones outwits and eloquently insults every callous Democrat clinging to racist beliefs. Jones’ delivery is legendary, so it hurts when he calls you a “fatuous nincompoop.”

Those expecting a “Saving Private Ryan” scenario in which Spielberg depicts the epic battles and carnage of the Civil War will be disappointed. The war rears its ugly head in the opening scene and once briefly toward the end, but with “Lincoln,” Spielberg achieves something different — a cerebral experience capturing the essence of these characters and the inimitable time they lived in.

It’s clear how attached Spielberg was to Lincoln’s story as the camera zooms in on characters’ faces, the close-ups deliberately lit in a striking contrast of light and darkness. He focuses on small details, like the worn lines on Lincoln’s hardened face, or faint spirals of smoke swirling around the candlelit rooms of the White House.

“Lincoln” underscores the true power and respect commanded by the 16th president. So as he digresses into yet another rambling story about an old woman he defended back in Indiana, every single person in the room — from young aides to powerful generals — goes absolutely silent.

Published on November 29, 2012 at 12:24 am

Contact Rob: rjmarvin@syr.edu