Academy Award winning director Stephen Spielberg, and
Pulitzer Prize winning author/playwright Tony Kushner, along with Hollywood
actor Daniel Day Lewis, have teamed up to bring the myth and legend of Abraham
Lincoln, America’s sixteenth president into sharper and a much narrower focus
than any movie has done before.
It’s not easy rewriting “accepted historical facts” about an
individual who is revered the world over.
Cliché’s, however, have a way of hardening over time; becoming the
accepted “truth”. The Lincoln story,
over the years, has usually covered his life set against the tumult and
backdrop of the Civil War, with over 600,000 dead as its legacy, and its many
assassination conspiracy theories as plot sources for books, plays, and
movies.
To his credit, screenwriter Kushner eschews the obvious
pathway and together with director Spielberg, have fashioned a brilliant and
insightful script, illuminating the rough and tumble of 1860 politics, which
eerily reflects the gridlock and entrenched positions of 2012 America. It appears we haven’t learned very much over
the last one hundred and fifty years about governance (except for a timeout
during WW II).
The story covers only a short period in Lincoln’s presidency
– the last four months of his life. In
Spielberg’s “Lincoln” the Great Emancipator, is brilliantly and intelligently
played by English actor Daniel Day Lewis, who delivers one of the most
poignant, and understated performances, practically guaranteeing a Best Actor
Oscar nomination in the process (if not a win). He morphs into the role of Lincoln with such ease and credibility
one forgets we’re watching an actor playing a very familiar historical
figure. Lewis delivers a constant
series of sublime cinema moments adding up to a stunning performance.
The core story issue of slavery and it’s abolition via the
passage of the U.S. Constitution’s Thirteenth Amendment, is the stuff of great
drama, and the focus of Kushner’s script.
Also, he had quality help, in the form of Pulitzer Prize winning author
Doris Kearns Goodwin, when it came time for background research on his Lincoln
story. Despite the controversy and
seriousness of the issues. Kushner
still makes room for a little humor, allowing the politicians (all white males)
to bluster and posture; generally making fools of themselves, in the
process. The film is blessed with a
plethora of talented actors not the least of which is, America’s favorite
flying nun Sally Field, who renders a fully developed political First Lady as
Mary Todd Lincoln. She may be a classic
study of a woman struggling with depression, but she still remembers how to cut
off the legs of a political opponent at a state ball. Just ask Tommy Lee Jones, the target in her crosshairs, as
congressman Thaddeus Stevens, the champion of the abolitionist cause. His craggy countenance and irascible
portrayal as Stevens just may bring him another Best Support Oscar nomination.
The film has over 145 speaking roles and the entire cast is
filled with journeyman actors, stars, and newcomers who deliver very winning
and indelible impressions. David
Strathairn as Secretary of State Seward brings a strong and intelligent
performance to the president’s cause.
It’s practically a co-starring role.
Hal Holbrook also renders a lasting impression as Preston Blair, a
champion for a peace treaty between the warring factions. James Spader, John Hawkes (who stars with Helen
Hunt in the newly released film “The Sessions”), and Jackie Earle Haley have
featured roles as the “gang of three”.
They’re charged with rounding up the necessary congressional votes in
order to pass the president’s plan to end slavery via the Thirteenth
Amendment. And they are pretty creative
and inventive in the way they go about their work. And you thought the 2012 election was “rough and tumble, and
down and dirty”. Their shenanigans, in
part, are sort of the on-going comic-relief element in an otherwise somber and
life altering period in the country’s history.
Also, Gloria Reuben brings a quiet dignity and grace to her performance
as Elizabeth Keckley, a friend of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln.
Enough, however, cannot be said about the performance of
Daniel Day Lewis. His Lincoln portrayal
will change your impressions of Abraham Lincoln, the man you thought you
knew. No matter one’s politics, the
Spielberg/Kushner film continues to burnish the Lincoln legend and the mystique
surrounding the Great Emancipator is still intact. “Honest Abe” will still be “a man for the ages”.
“Lincoln” opened in southern California on Friday, November
16, 2012. I attended the screening at
the Regal Stadium Nine Theatre, in Palm Springs, CA. The historical film is going to be a very formidable Oscar
contending movie in many categories, come January 2013. Don’t wait.
See it now.