Lincoln

Lincoln, directed by Steven Spielberg, with screenplay by Tony Kushner, depicts "honest Abe" (brilliantly portrayed by Daniel Day Lewis) during the push to ratify the 13th Amendment in 1865.  Delivered in a gorgeously somber and subdued palette with sepia emphasis, Lincoln toggles between elated hagiography and serious historical detail.  And although Spielberg interferes in his usual manner by telling us how to feel (with John Williams as his annoying musical sidekick), the combination of an intelligent, witty and heartfelt script, superb casting, and Daniel Day Lewis' deep, warm and wise portrayal makes for a very compelling and intriguing film.

Daniel Day Lewis is lit in nearly the same manner in every scene, so that both his halo and his humanity are easily and consistently perceived. ( Janusz Kaminski is, once again, Spielberg's highly skilled DP)  Domestic interactions with Mary Todd Lincoln (a very touching Sally Field) are lit more brightly or kept in near darkness.  Daniel Day Lewis towers and shrinks, murmurs and pounds, cajoles, convinces, jokes and soothes.  Could a President really have been this kind and wise?  I think we all hope so, and if not, it is a myth worth imitating.

A subplot of Lincoln's relationship with his son Robert is an unfortunate distraction that adds nothing to our comprehension of either Lincoln or his times.  And, as is typical with Spielberg, the film is about 20 minutes longer than it needs to be, with an ending that appears tacked on and merely gilds the lily.  Still, this is an impressive portrait of a President who, embattled from within and without, managed to hew to a course that changed the future of our nation, and offers perspective for our continuing conversations of race, rights, balance of power and humanity.