Saturday, December 29, 2012

Lincoln: An Entertaing History Lesson

2.

Lincoln



Period pieces are always hard to execute correctly. They are either too traditional and boring, or they have too much of a modern flair and completely miss the point of being set in the past. But when a film does everything correctly, it can be one of the most powerful movie going experiencesyou can have. Add the best actor of our generation, and Lincoln may be the best period piece ever created.

Much of my excitement prior to the film's release came from my love of history. I've watched countless documentaries on WWI and II, the American Revolution, and the Roman Empire. But there was always a blind spot in my knowledge of history: the American Civil War. And as luck would have it, around the time that Lincoln was released, I had recently started to watch the History Channel's documentary on the war. With the details of the time period fresh in my mind, I bought my ticket to see Lincoln.

Lincoln was everything I wanted it to be and more. My biggest fear going in was that Hollywood would try to keep Lincoln out of the dirty politics that surrounded the passing of the 14th Amendment, but right from the opening act you saw that Lincoln was going to do anything in his power to pass the amendment, including hand out government jobs for votes.

This was a very important feature that was needed in the movie, and I don't think the role of a toeing the line Lincoln could have been played better by anyone other than Daniel Day-Lewis. He should hands down win the Oscar for Best Actor, but I could also see the Academy not wanting to give him the award a third time, too. Day-Lewis is equal parts charming, powerful and vulnerable. His intensity throughout the movie almost convinced me that he was Lincoln. He was that good.

While we're on the topic of awards, Tommy Lee Jones should win best supporting actor. Thaddeus Stevens is a complicated character — both in the movie and history — that was both Lincoln's ally and enemy, and to play him correctly, Jones needed to match Day-Lewis' performance in every scene. Stevens had to be Lincoln's equal, and Jones had to be Day-Lewis'. It should be a clean sweep in the male acting categories, but we'll see if politics gets in the way.

It should come as no surprise that Steven Spielberg captured a time period so perfectly. Lincoln is to post-civil war America, what Saving Private Ryan was to WWII Europe. It felt like I was watching the events through a mirror, and that these were the real people not actors. The authenticity of the sets is the number one reason why I adored this movie.

Between the portrayal of historical figures, the realistic sets and the events taking place on screen, my inner history geek was in heaven. My only complaint is that the movie could have ended prior to his assassination (spoiler?), and probably should have. But the events surrounding that night in Ford's Theater are too known to ignore, and Spielberg did what he should and not show the actual shooting, but rather the reaction to it. This movie will be one that I will make sure my children watch when they begin to learn U.S. History.

Release date: November 16th

Reason for ranking: Epic. A very well done movie that teaches you American history and you are none the wiser. Should be required viewing for kids when they learn about the Civil War.

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