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There are plenty of movies for moviegoers to see this Thanksgiving. Action fans would go to see James Bond ducking it out in Skyfall. Twilight fans and other fangirls are rolling out for Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part II. Children and their families have the holdover Wreck-It Ralph and the upcoming Rise of the Guardians to keep them occupied. But Lincoln will be here for those who appreciate artistic films.
Abraham Lincoln is one of the greatest presidents who ever lived. He led the USA through the American Civil War and brought an end to slavery. But tragedy struck on April 15, 1865, when he was assassinated John Wilkes Booth while attending a theatrical performance. To this day, he is regarded as one of the best presidents to have ever led our country.
This is not the first film to feature Abraham Lincoln this year. Back in June, there was a movie called Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter that was based on the book of the same name. But that movie received bad reviews from critics. But this time, we have a biography of him. Now this film does not tell the entire life of Abraham Lincoln. It tells us about the last four months of his life. From his creation of the Emancipation Proclamation to his last moments of life.
The story revolves around Abraham Lincoln's (Danny Day-Lewis) attempts to abolish slavery and the debates he has with the other senators, as well as his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln (Sally Field), and eldest son, Robert Lincoln (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Also on his side is Republican Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones). The film shows us the events of those days such as the debate over the Emancipation Proclamation and ends with Lincoln's eventual assassination.
Now I cannot truly say if this film is historically accurate, but it looks like that the film has at least captured the essence of the events that took place during the Lincoln's last moments. But I will say that this Lincoln was different from the ones that I've previously seen. His voice was quite different than from what I've heard. But then I found out that the real-life Lincoln's voice was more like this than the deep voice of authority that most are used to hearing.
Steven Spielberg, the director of the film, is not new to films based on historical events and figures. He directed historical classics Best Picture-winning Schindler's List and nominated Saving Private Ryan. While Lincoln does not quite measure up to those two efforts, this was easily the best film that Spielberg has done in a years and has more of his movie-making magic that most of his more recent films lacked. He's got some of his strong legs back with War Horse last year, but Lincoln has shown that he is not beyond making great films anymore. And like his previous two historical dramas, this will undoubtedly have huge Oscar buzz when the ceremony closes in.
The casting was the best thing about this movie. The cast includes Danny Day-Lewis as the title character, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Strathairn, and Jackie Earle Haley. Danny Day-Lewis nailed the role as Abraham Lincoln and will be a huge candidate for the Best Actor Oscar this year. Sally Field played Lincoln's wife and well and has really good chemistry with him. Tommy Lee Jones was very fun to watch and has some of the most witty dialogue in the film. Joseph Gordon-Levitt doesn't get as much screentime as he did in The Dark Knight Rises and Looper, but he does really good with his role. David Strathairn is really good in his scenes with Lincoln. Jackie Earle Haley is in the movie as Alexander Stephens, but don't expect him to give a rough voice like he did with Rorschach and Freddy Kruger. The rest of the cast is also really good.
Lincoln is a huge return to form for Steven Spielberg's directing career.
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Brendan C. on 11/16/12 at 08:03 PM
I agree totally.
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Seth S. on 11/17/12 at 04:43 AM
This movie sounds great! Nice review
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Joshua on 11/17/12 at 09:49 AM
Excellent review. I'm hoping to catch this next week.
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Uttiyo Sarkar on 11/18/12 at 10:27 AM
Looks quite brilliant this, as expected. Should wipe some awards in the Oscars. Great Review, cant wait to see it!
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Adam P. on 11/18/12 at 11:16 AM
good review can't wait to cheak the movie out :)
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Bob M. on 11/19/12 at 01:54 PM
Sounds great - now to see Hitchcock. Probably the two will duke it out come Oscar time.
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Movie Monster on 11/19/12 at 11:46 PM
I gotta see this. Abe Lincoln is my favorite president and Stephen Spielberg is my favorite director. Great review.
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Rostron2 on 11/20/12 at 12:34 PM
I will be seeing this soon. It looks like an great treatment of an extraordinary man. I don't understand the focus on his voice choice. It's been written up in accounts of the time that it was high and not at all like you'd expect. Weird focus anyway. The point is that he was the right man at the right time, however he sounded or got the job done. Nice review!
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Eldest2005 on 11/21/12 at 09:31 PM
I mentioned it because when I saw the movie, I was really surprised at how his voice sounded. I was used to hearing the deep voice. But after some research, I found that that voice was more like what the real Lincoln's voice was like.
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HeIsAtTheMovies on 11/20/12 at 07:41 PM
I agree entirely!
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Zeppo1 on 11/20/12 at 11:01 PM
Excellent film. Good review.
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Gavin the moviejunkie1994 on 11/21/12 at 08:10 AM
I'm not sure whether or not I could catch this. Nice review, though.
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Anthony L. on 11/22/12 at 06:10 AM
I'm really looking forward to seeing this one, nice review!
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Metal John on 11/24/12 at 10:22 AM
It was a great film, great acting, and your review is fantastic. But overall I didn't feel "hooked" by this film. I didn't walk out feeling like I saw a "Best film of the year". Check out my review if you have a moment.
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Adam P. on 11/27/12 at 03:20 PM
i agree with you 100% (pun intended)
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Ljiljana S. on 12/15/12 at 01:50 PM
Excellent review. :)
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Christopher P. on 1/13/13 at 02:00 AM
Great review. I think the story was as accurate as it could have been.
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