This Steven Spielberg movie shows the last 4 months in President Abraham Lincoln's life during which he made all possible efforts to somehow bring an end to the brutal and deadly Civil War between the Union (North) and the Confederacy (South). The South comprised states where slavery was still legal (slave states) while the Union was one where all the states were prohibited from practicing slavery (free state).
During this time, Lincoln also made relentless efforts to somehow pass the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, one which outlaws slavery and involuntary servitude. He saw this Amendment as a key tool in ending the war and had to have this Amendment passed by the US House of Representatives (The Lower House of the US Congress, the Upper House being the Senate) comprising Democrats and Republicans with varying ideologies and opinions on the issue of slavery.
The movie is lifted totally by the performance of Daniel Day-Lewis as President Lincoln. The makeup is authentic, the voice modulation is perfect and the tall 6'4 frame also looks natural. He has already won 2 Oscars and a third one looks likely as the movie has been nominated for 12 Oscars in all, inclusive of the Best Actor nomination for Daniel.
Tommy Lee Jones's is another expert performance and as the radical Republican Thaddeus Stevens, his emotional reactions, to his colored housekeeper / lover after the Amendment is passed, are memorable. He has also been nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category and this authoritative performance deserves one indeed.
Sally Field as Lincoln's troubled and disturbed wife scores brownie points as well, though she gets emotionally overboard at times. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Lincoln's ambitious son has a minor role which he plays with the usual intensity. Gloria Reuben as Lincoln's colored dressmaker scores in the scene when she opens her heart out to Lincoln about being a slave and about how the Amendment would result in better times for her clan. David Strathairn leads the rest of the supporting characters in one huge ensemble cast.
The movie has a lot of characters in the form of politicians and army men. It also makes sense to give a proper reading of how the US Congress is structured, about the two Houses, about the two political ideologies in the US, what the Civil War was about , what the 13th Amendment was about and many more related material. After reading all this, seeing the movie again is recommended.
The movie moves at a leisurely pace, is heavily dialog oriented but is definitely uplifting as the climax voting scenes in the House bring the necessary emotional connect in us. The way the movie ends with Lincoln's speech fading out to a close, is again CLASS.
The cinematography, costume design, the period production design and the musical score also play their own little parts in ensuring that Lincoln would be a worthy winner of the Best Motion Picture Oscar.
In all, Lincoln is a solid historical drama about one of the most important men in the history of world politics.
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