Lincoln

I wasn’t losing sleep over the canonization of Abraham Lincoln, the illustrious sixteenth president of the United States of America. But fortunately, that’s not what Lincoln does. This excellent historical and political drama focuses on his four last, tumultuous months. The disastrous Civil War between the Union (the North) and the Confederacy (the South) has claimed far too many lives already. The Union is winning when the otherwise extremely cautious Lincoln surprises everyone by putting the abolition of slavery on the political agenda. Through the Thirteenth Amendment, he aims once and for all to abolish the disgraceful fact and repulsive idea that people can own other people. He has the backing of his Republican Party, but the Democrats are against him. Lincoln is about twenty votes short, and neither his best arguments nor most eloquent speeches will be able to sway the vote. He’ll have to win with political stratagems. He has to hope the Civil War goes his way. Voters need to be recruited, if not bribed outright. This is politics at its lowest, but also politics at its greatest. There is about twice as much talking in Lincoln than in the average dialogue-based French film. The movie makes fun of Lincoln’s tendency to tell stories at the strangest moments; a weapon like any other.

Daniel Day-Lewis immerses himself completely in the role. The incredibly intense star of There Will Be Blood and Gangs of New York has a good chance of winning a third Oscar. But he is by no means the only actor to deliver a great performance. Steven Spielberg has the talent, the experience, and the cameraman (the unsurpassed Janusz Kaminski) to turn dialogue into exciting cinema. If there’s one name we absolutely have to mention, it is Tony Kushner (Angels in America). The screenwriter has translated historical facts and complex politics into clear, exciting, and relevant drama, and sketches a very human portrait of a very great man. Superlative.

Lincoln ●●●●
US, 2012, dir.: Steven Spielberg, act.: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, 150 min.