Film: Lincoln

GENRE: Biopic/Drama

RATING: PG-13for some war violence and brief strong language

RUNTIME: 2 hours and 30 minutes

STARRING: Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York, My Left Foot)

Tommy Lee Jones (The Fugitive), Sally Field (Forrest Gump)

DIRECTOR: Steven Speilberg (Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan)

WRITER: Tony Kushner (Munich, Angels in America)

PLOT: In his final few months, Lincoln fights to free the slaves with the passing of his amendment, while finding peace to the Civil War.  

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 Daniel Day-Lewis is mesmerizing as Abraham Lincoln. Of course, this should not shock anyone. He is simply riveting in every scene he is in. He doesn’t need even need the loud bravado that usually accompanies his roles. His silent reflections and fun stories are just as spell-binding. Give this guy another Oscar.

2 This government wheeling and dealing to get enough votes to pass Lincoln’s amendment plays out like a very long West Wing episode, without the walk & talk of course. Running at 2½ hours, they probably could have cut out 30 minutes though.

3 Tommy Lee Jones is looking old. What a craggy face he has! He does some mighty fine work as Thaddeus Stevens though. He’ll probably get a supporting actor nod for his work.

4 This film is jam packed with great actors. It’s like everyone wanted to get in on the action. I wish I saw this film earlier so I could have copied a style or two for Movember. Such crazy facial hair back in the day!

5 I enjoyed the use of Morse code in the film; talk about old-school tweeting.

RECOMMENDATION: Long for theatres, but great acting all around

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Life of Pi, The Hobbit