LINCOLN

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Running time: 150 minutes

This is the sort of film where even if you know the detail of the story it won't spoil your enjoyment since it is the journey that matters, not the ending or the twist. Daniel Day-Lewis embodied the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, near perfect although personally I prefer him as Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood.

Spielberg is making a good decision by not telling the whole story of Lincoln (the title might mislead people who thinks that this is a biopic) but limiting to his last month of presidency before he got killed by John Wilkes Booth. This film could simply be titled '13th Amendment  where finally the Union abolish slavery and thus reach an end to the bloody civil war.

Written by Tony Kushner, most of the actions took place in the rooms where men argues each other, war scenes are quite rare. On paper this could be boring but the result on the screen is amazing, mostly because Day-Lewis is the center of this film. Spielberg manages to tightly put the whole dialogue driven story in 150 minute. It does not glorify Lincoln but shows how delicate politics can be where it is not that easy to distinguish what is good or bad.

Lincoln was a political genius, he used ways which by the standard of the 21st century, a bit hazy and 'impeachable' such as using lobbyist to 'bribe' and buy the Democrats vote to pass the 13th amendment  He also send representative to make a peace deal with the Confederate all at the same time he try to be a father to his family. 

But he was also a good motivator with his stories of this and that. His leadership is visible and facing two great danger, the civil war and his political venture, he showed calmness and preservation. 

Other cast is also stellar, like Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens who was at the front line of abolishing salvery, even up to recognizing the rights of African-American in front of the law, something that is quite rare at that time.

One weakness of the story is the sub-story on Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who wishes to enlist thus inflict a conflict with his parents. This sub-story felt as if it strays the whole story out of focus and ended in a hushed manner. It would be better if the story about Robert only just implied in dialogue. It would save us 10 to 15 minutes of the duration.

However the whole film is good, even for non-U.S. citizen who had little knowledge on who Lincoln was. It teaches and inspires us how to lead in difficult times as realistic as possible. History based movies doesn't have to be a strict history lesson, but it can take a certain cut at certain moments in history which is defining for years, even centuries to come.