LINCOLN

I went to see LINCOLN with my wife and our older two daughters this weekend.  WOW!  Absolutely incredible.  I was blown away.  The movie is base in part on Team Of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  She is a marvelous historian and writer.   Of course, Stephen King met with Goodwin when he was working on 11.22.63.  He did a lot of “what iffing” with her, discussing what would happen if Kennedy had lived.

The Lincoln movie focuses on the efforts to pass the thirteenth amendment through the House – about three months of time elapses in the movie.  Of course, Team of Rivals has a much larger scope, looking more microscopically at Lincoln’s cabinet.

There was nothing I didn’t like about this film!  There were several times I found myself wondering if that is exactly how various scenes went down; how much artistic license was being taken.

The film is carried by Daniel Day Lewis, who brings Lincoln to life!  This is no wooden performance.  My complaint about Lincoln movies has always been the same as Jesus films!  That is, they always show the main character as kind of aloof.  (Think Disneyland’s “Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln” – cool, but a little wooden.)  Bruce Marchiano brilliantly portrayed Christ in the Visual Bible’s Matthew.  Here, Lincoln is a living being right before our eyes.  He is funny, strong, a man of conviction and able to hold his own with his wife.

Lincoln is portrayed as a man who is able to choose his battles.  He lets Mary Lincoln (Sally Field) get her way . . . most of the time.  When pressed by his son Robert, to allow him to join the Union cause, Lincoln struggles – torn between Robert’s desire and Mary’s demand that her son be spared.  The family had already had too much loss to endure a son giving his life on the battlefield.

Unlike many Lincoln movies, the scope of this movie is big.  What I mean is that often these movies focus only on Lincoln the man – avoiding the battlefield or big speeches because they would require massive budget.  How do you create a crowd of thousands gathered at the capitol building in the 1860's?  Well, when you have Mr. Spielberg then those special effects are possible.

I was deeply moved by this.  There was nothing I had to give the movie a pass on (acting, special effects, history), so I felt free to let the movie carry me.  I takes a few moments when the film starts.  The viewer is a bit nervous when Day Lewis first appears on screen.  Can I trust you to be Lincoln to me?  Quickly, the answer is: YES!  This is Lincoln!

Many familiar scenes are present, lived out much the way I imagined them.  Lee’s surrender to Grant. . . the Second inauguration speech. . . Civil War battles. . . and more.  Everyone felt right.  I don’t know how to explain that – but they didn’t feel like 21st century actors pretending to be 19th century men.  When General Grant was on screen, it seemed like it was really him.

Radical Republican Thaddeus Stevens is portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones.  Stevens is a sympathetic character in the movie, pushing with all his might to free the slaves.  Radical Republicans would later push, after the Civil War, to grant blacks full civil rights.  However, without Lincoln, the master politician there to help two sides move forward, the nation became embroiled in a terrible period of Reconstruction. Mr. Steven’s would lead the charge to impeach President Andrew Johnson, who did not posses Lincoln’s ability to shepherd strong willed people.  Lincoln had the ability the show mercy to the defeated south.  Unfortunately, Mr. Johnson did not have the same credibility or leadership Lincoln had displayed.  (Credibility, because only Lincoln could really demand the South be allowed back into the Union with “Malice toward none.”)

Put LINCOLN up there with the kind of movie that comes around rarely.  Strange to me to see lines waiting to see the latest installment of Twilight while Lincoln is showing.  (It was a packed house for Lincoln, too.)  But really. . . Twilight over Lincoln?  Speaking of Twilight, I did see Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter a few weeks ago.  Sigh.

Check out Lincoln while it’s in theaters.  Take your kids.  This is something American’s should see at this point in our history.  This film reminds us of who we are and whose we are.