Review of Lincoln (2012) by Stephen C — 09 Dec 2013

Steven Spielberg has long had a desire to make a film on the life of Abraham Lincoln .

Despite the fact he has had to focus on one part of Lincolns life that part is quite possibly one of the most important pieces of American History the ending of slavery across the nation.

This one issue was the root cause of the American civil war ,which as the film begins is in ts third year with no sign of ending.

Lincoln is determined to get his bill on slavery through and will result to buying congress in order to shape the outcome of the result.

Spielberg shows us Lincoln the man behind the myth and also shows us how the civil war impacts on those around him most notably his wife and his sons.

Daniel Day Lewis is of course the centre of the film as Lincoln and his acting shows again why he is simply the leading actor of his genaration.

Thats not to say he has it all his own way Sally Field is more than a match as Mary Todd Lincoln and Tommy Lee Jones and James Spader stealing every scene they are in as Thaddeus Sullivan and W N Bilbo.

Spielberg usual team are alll in place with John Williams providing another sweeping score and Januz Kaminski using his camera to great effect.

The film is long of course and you may need to read up on parts of the subject matter in order to gain some knowledge of the background to Tony Kushners screenplay.

But the most important thing here is that a Director with Spielbergs skills has crafted another masterpiece to add to his strong body of work.