LINCOLN (Steven Spielberg, Touchstone Pictures, 2012)

Excellence is the defining word that comes to mind when I think about LINCOLN (Steven Spielberg, Touchstone Pictures, 2012). It permeates the very essence of the entire film touching every aspect of filmmaking. In fact there are not enough adjectives to describe the work accomplished in the film. Every actor performs superbly, the writing is stellar, the cinematography is beautiful and the overall direction and impact of the film is transcendent. It helps that the people working on this film are all at the top of their respective games but that said they tackled a project of enormous scope and weight and with tremendous historical value. That they succeeded so spectacularly is proof of their abilities but that they made a film so amazing, so eminently watchable helps place this film above others released this year and has to make it the favorite to win Best Picture this year. The centerpiece to the film is the portrayal of Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day Lewis). Quite simply DDL inhabits the role. There is no existing videotape of Lincoln to watch, only accounts in books. Yet DDL hits every nuance of what one would expect Lincoln to be like; his mannerisms, speech, the stooped frame and stilted gait. DDL embodies the President fully. He brings Lincoln to us. He makes us like the man, makes us pull for and believe his causes and we mourn his loss knowing full well it is coming. An otherworldly performance. By now DDL's prep work and commitment to a specific role are legendary and it all pays off. He will be up for his third Best Actor Oscar and I think he deserves it. At this point the argument can be made that he is the greatest actor we have seen grace the big screen. He is that accomplished. While not as accomplished as Day Lewis, writer Tony Kushner provides exemplary work with the script. The script is excellent (I am reading it now, next Goodwin's book). It tackles a fiery and controversial topic and period of our history. Yet it condenses the story skillfully and makes the narrative breeze along. There are so many characters yet we never get lost. The dialogue is elegant and loquacious with a vocabulary that would make Webster proud. The narrative does take time to unfold clearly but this isn't a subject matter lightly threaded upon. As I watched the film about fifteen minutes in I heard a guy behind me whisper "this is so boring". I wish I had the courage to turn around and tell him to go watch whatever version of SAW they are on instead. And if had that courage that knucklehead would've missed an absolutely beautiful film. At this point the team of Spielberg and Kaminski do everything this way yet they keep impressing again and again. The film has excellent lighting throughout. Set in a time when widespread electricity was still a rarity they made excellent use of 'natural' light throughout the film. And still the films true power and lasting impression is this. Spielberg successfully humanized Lincoln and for that matter all Presidents. Past Presidents are too distant with not enough connection through time. Current ones are too distant, too removed from us. They are too protected from those they rule over. One of the most striking aspects to the film was the accessibility to Lincoln. Over and again we see this. He walks amongst the men, no bodyguards. He rides a carriage through Washington, no police escort. People come and go freely to the White House, individually petitioning him. When one pontificates on what ails our countries current political quagmire maybe they should think of how this film portrays accessibility (and accountability) to politicians. Finally I think this film is rather important. If for anything to see the portrayal provided by DDL. To see Lincoln humanized. To watch a film dealing with the most scarring time in American history and one that honestly shows the problems of the era. Amazing film, deserving of Best Picture.