REVIEW | Lincoln (2012)


Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln (12 Oscar nominations) runs 149 minutes of talk. Mostly. But before you yawn and say “boring!” you have to know that this could very well be this year’s Oscar Best Picture.

The movie is set during the final months of Lincoln’s second term as US President as he pursues his mighty quest to pass the Thirteenth Amendment to abolish slavery. The movie, thus, plunges us into a series of debates, arguments, and speeches about the Thirteenth Amendment until the historical—and emotional—moment of its ratification.

And when you are presented a film filled with talk, there’s no better screenplay writer than Pulitzer Prize-winner, and literary genius, Tony Kushner (Angels in America). And that is where Lincoln’s entertainment and pleasure come from: the words. Mightier than sword. Slicing at your heart and gripping at your soul. Kushner delivers delicious verbal jousting and wordplay that propel you to tears and laughter.



Movies and literature on black slavery and oppression have always been profoundly affecting, and here is a movie that is not only about moral conviction, but about the Great Emancipator. We see a great man relentlessly fight for equality, freedom, justice, and fairness with extraordinary determination, because it's a self-evident truth that God created men equal.

Daniel Day-Lewis is no longer Daniel Day-Lewis in this movie, as expected. He is Lincoln come to life; you not only see a physical transformation, but a total one. He is quietly intense, dominating the screen. Tommy Lee Jones as the radical abolitionist congressman Thaddeus Stevens also gives an unforgettable, riveting performance, and it’s sheer entertainment watching the striking difference between two men with similar goals: Stevens’ ruthless, heedless, overzealous and uncaring pursuit of the good versus Lincoln’s slow, wise, and meticulous, loving-kindness approach. Sally Field, as Lincoln's wife Mary, could have been given to any other actress; passable performance but not impressive.


Lincoln, loosely based on  Doris Kearns Goodwin's book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, is a cinematic triumph. Important, rewarding, and informative. Thinkers, leaders, idealists, proponents of what is morally right, as well as those who enjoy language and politics, will certainly fall in love with this movie. It is witty, dramatic, resonant, tremendously inspiring and soul-stirring, immersing you in the mind of a great man, a husband, a father, and an exceptional leader who changed the course of history. The rich, powerful words delivered effectively by the actors are the film’s masterpiece and strength, and the rest of its cinematic elements are subtle support that resulted in a truly remarkable film.


(Recommendation: Watch this before you watch Tarantino’s Django Unchained, Lincoln’s competition for Oscar Best Picture.)


4.5 out of 5 stars
In Philippine Cinemas February 20th, 2013 




Comments

Jugs said…
You forgot to give props to the three hlarious lobbyists played by John Hawkes, Tim Blake Nelson and James Spader, who stole every scene they're in. They certainly prevented me from dosing off.