Lincoln - 4 smiles

Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” is an exceptional blend of bio-pic and story that most of us didn’t know. Kudos to Tony Kushner’s intelligent script that blends the democratic process, political maneuvering and higher moral thinking into great entertainment. And Daniel Day-Lewis is extraordinary as the president, capturing his wit and generosity as well as his iron will. Rather than an overarching biography, Spielberg and Kushner focus on the weeks immediately following the president’s reelection in late 1864, when Lincoln opts to spend his new political capital by pushing through the 13^th Amendment and abolishing slavery in the face of opposition from all sides. Here we get a closer look at the horse-trading, strategic thinking and deal making that went on behind the scenes, all tied to ideas of what should be done rather that what could be done.

Aside from Lincoln, not one other person thinks the Amendment has a chance of passing the Senate and the House. Hardly anyone even thinks it’s a good idea. We are reminded that the Emancipation Proclamation was a wartime measure and that, with the Civil War grinding to a halt, only a change to the Constitution would prevent slavery from resuming in the South. And the movie takes great pains to illustrate the racist thinking that was part of the average white American worldview in January 1865. Tommy Lee Jones almost steals the movie as the radical Republican Thaddeus Stevens, a man who staunchly believed that blacks and whites were equals on every level. His performance is full of ethical righteousness and hilarious invective. But Day-Lewis’s Lincoln is a canny politician hiding behind the folksy exterior, always telling home-spun anecdotes that reveal stinging moral rebukes. In Day-Lewis we see a Lincoln aged by his presidency and the war but a deep thinker, a man for all ages. Spielberg has recruited an A list of actors in supporting roles, including Sally Field, David, Strathairn, Hal Holbrook, John Hawkes, James Spader, Jackie Haley, Bruce McGill and Tim Blake Nelson. “Lincoln” is definitely a talky movie, but it illustrates the power of ideas and the power of words. It’s a must-see. 10/17/12