lincoln

movies:  Lincoln, the new movie directed by Steven Spielberg, is the story of how President Abraham Lincoln passed the thirteenth amendment based on the book Team Of Rivals.  Given that I have not read the book, going into it, it was hard to imagine little more than a retelling of the end of the Civil War only more enjoyable given Spielberg's directing, Daniel Day-Lewis playing Lincoln, and Tommy Lee Jones's awesome wig, based in the trailers.  It proved, however, to be much more enjoyable than I had expected.  And maybe more importantly different than I had expected.
Lincoln is not simply a Civil War story.  It tells specifically the story of Lincoln's obsession with the belief that passing the thirteenth amendment, which abolished slavery, was the the key to ending the war, and more importantly reuniting the North and South.  With that, it brought a different look to a story we are all too familiar with.  Instead of seeing Lincoln the speech maker standing over bloody battlefields, we see Lincoln the politician and the man.  The man is arguably the most entertaining part of the movie as he weaves long-winded tales to emphasize points he is trying to make (that after a few too many that even the audience begins to groan, Lincoln himself gets called out on for doing to often).  He is also presented as a rather uneducated and simple man, unable to make decisions objectively since he lacks the higher education of the advisers and adversaries around him.
The more important side of Lincoln to the film itself though is the politician.  As he struggles to get the amendment passed, we see a world frighteningly similar to the one around us.  The times 160 years ago are shown as no less corrupt or treacherous in the world of politics than they are today.  Lincoln - needing to secure votes to pass the amendment through the House Of Representatives, which was by no means a slam dunk, hires a group of men to go in search of Representatives that are on the fence that he can sway to his side.  These men are not swayed by speeches about morality and right and wrong.  They are not swayed by justice.  They are swayed by deals.  And as we see positions offered to these potentially deal breaking voters as Lincoln's next term is about to start, we are faced with reality.  The reality being that things just don't seem to change.  As much as we chastise our current political officials for being handled by lobbyists at every turn and romanticize times gone by, we see in this movie that things have maybe not changed that much at all.  Beyond even the buying of votes for the passing of the amendment we hear Lincoln talk about the manipulation of the law that allowed for the Emancipation Proclamation.
Lincoln cannot be talked about without also acknowledging its acting.  There is almost an overabundance of great actors in this movie (I am not going to list them all, that would take 10000 words itself, just check it on IMDB if you want.  Its seriously astonishing.).  But there really are two that stand out.  Tommy Lee Jones plays Thaddeus Stevens.  He is a House Representative who has been pushing for total equality between races since before Lincoln was even in office.  As it is with men of such radical passion, he is met with hatred and jokes while being able to do little for his own case since he can be goated into overly emotional arguments.  Jones plays this fervor with pure ecstasy   He is funny and exciting and in the end plays the difficulty of the times he is facing as well as anyone, not because he is succumbing to something he doesn't believe in, but because, as he is forced to accept this baby step to equality, he realizes that reigning in himself and his beliefs is the first step to getting what he wants.  For his true hope of equality, as he finds, cannot be realized with the first step of ending slavery, which he believes is to small a step in to the world he envisions.
But, as I am sure is no surprise, the actor that deserves the most praise is Daniel Day-Lewis.  Like how the version of Lincoln seen in this movie is new, his portrayal of him is also new.  He portrays Lincoln not as the giant of a man imposing his will upon a country that we are used to seeing.  Instead he is in all likelihood closer to what a man dealing with years of civil war would be.  Day-Lewis's Lincoln is a tired man walking around hunched at the shoulders as if the weight he is feeling from his nation tearing apart were actually falling down around him.  He is weary of his struggles, both in politics and in his family.  He is trying to remain hopeful that the war will end, and that as he seeks its end the decisions he is making will be what brings that end, although there is a shadow of doubt in him at every turn.  Despite these troubles and now doubts, however, he also shows that that same giant of a man with all his intimidation and charisma can still come out when there is no other way to accomplish his goals.
Daniel Day-Lewis may be the best living actor.  There is isn't more than one movie
(Nine) in which he seems to portray otherworldly skill.  He is an actors actor, taking on challenging rolls that force him to morph his physical appearance and voice.  I am fairly certain that I would not recognize him if I saw him walking down the street despite the fact that I have seen almost all of his movies.  But the care with which he treats the characters he plays is unmatched.   And watching him play Lincoln it is on full display again.  He plays the strength of a leader knowing he has no choice but to get what he needs combined with the fragility of a man worn down by war hitting all the beats as if he were a classical musician performing a grand opus.
The movie itself is also with very few comparisons   As a look into the political underbelly of the Civil War, Lincoln is as much fascinating and thrilling as it is a frightening mirror.  Rarely can one look into the events of the past and see their world reflected back at them in a way that is both resonant and true to its own time.  I can't help but say that the only time I have seen that done so well was in the Mad Men episode The Grown Ups, watching people glued to their televisions as tragedy, then in the form of Kennedy's assassination, gripped the nation and the media ruled all.  And in being that mirror, even beyond its all time great actor, Lincoln did credit to the man and the times it wanted to portray.