Troy Somerset-Gazette MOVIE REVIEW

by CAROL AZIZIAN

Lincoln is Sensitive Portrayal of Pivitol Political Era In US History

Daniel DayLewis inhabits the character of Abraham Lincoln as comfortably as the wool throw wrapped around the revered presidents arms. Shoulders stooped and war-weary, the lanky, bearded Lincoln dispenses wisdom in a reedy voice through now-famous speeches, Euclidean notions of equality and Shakespearean quotes as well as humor through homespun yarns. With grace, emotional depth and a reverence for history, director Steven Spielberg, screenwriter Tony Kushner and Day-Lewis deliver a superb depiction of our 16th presidents struggle to pass the 13th amendment to the Constitution which outlawed slavery. With Doris Kearns Goodwins Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln as its source material, the film masterfully illustrates contentions between those congressmen in the House of Representatives who are adamantly against the amendment and hell-bent on derailing the presidents efforts and those who support him. In other words, its a film about the legislative process and the backdoor wheeling and dealing integral to passing controversial laws. Democrats opposing the amendment disdainfully call Lincoln Abraham Africanus. Republican supporters range from the more radical Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones), the wrinkled, acid-tongued chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, to the conservative Preston Blair (Hal Holbrook), who need some prodding and prefer a brokered peace to a Constitutional amendment. The showboating Stevens, as played by Jones, steals nearly every scene in which he appears, especially when he points out that every man is equal before the law, even those members of the opposition who are more reptile than man.

The Civil War is a backdrop with bloody scenes of combat and fallen soldiers framing the film. In the minds of some legislators, the amendments passage hinges on whether or not rumors of an imminent peace agreement with the Confederacy are true. (The reality that both northern and southern Democratic legislators opposed the amendment becomes starkly evident during the climactic vote.) Behind the scenes, Lincoln agrees to a plan by Secretary of State William Seward (David Strathairn) to engage three unsavory characters (James Spader, Tim Blake Nelson and John Hawkes) to rustle up the necessary votes by offering patronage positions to some Democrats after their terms are over. Theres a lot of humor in these scenes and Spader, in particular, plays the role to the hilt as a boozing swindler sweet-talking for a worthy cause. Lincolns family situation is complex he has an affectionate, playful relationship with his young son, Tad (Gulliver McGrath) and a challenging one with his older son Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who wishes to join the Union Army against his mothers wishes. His relationship with Mary Todd Lincoln (Sally Field), whom the president calls Molly, is tainted by memories of the death of another son, Willie, from illness. Field plays the role as a woman on the edge, and these scenes serve to illustrate that the president had much to contend with outside the political arena. The language of the screenplay is infused with colloquialisms, but not to the point of distraction. Janusz Kaminskis sepia-toned cinematography also contributes to the sense of period drama. While there are several points at which the film could have ended, Spielberg decides to move the drama forward, past passage of the amendment. Since this is a story with which we are intimately familiar, we are engrossed to the end. No doubt there will be more than a few Oscar nods for the filmmakers cinematic achievement. More importantly, Lincoln is necessary entertainment for all generations -- the lessons derived from the film will enrich and inform our lives. Rating: * * * *