d- Steven Spielberg
w-Tony Kushner - from a book by Doris Kearns Goodwin
dp-Janusz Kaminski
After the dissapointment of last year's "Warhorse", it seemed as though Speilberg had spiraled back into the vortex of Speilcrap. Speilcrap is that awful brew of mawkish sentiment, overblown, contrived staginess, and awful 'lil cute kiddies that frequently attach to his films like barnacles and sink them totally. Early in the film, we are indeed subject to one - but only one- bit of Speilcrap (I'd say Speilshit, but this is a family blog). It comes in the first scenes, when Lincoln in reviewing troops and meeting with soldiers. Two little soldier twinks try to impress Lincoln by reciting, from memory - both of them - the Gettysburg Address. Music swells. The soldiers get about half way through and Lincoln basically tells them to bugger off. They do. Then, the John Williams goes into overdrive as a young black soldier, all voice aquiver, picks up where the twinks left off, with his battalion or unit, as they go skipping into the glittery sunset or whatever. My memory of this bit is admittedly a little murky, as I'm trying to blot it from memory. But oh please! Soldiers having a relatively recent Presidential speech committed to memory? In 1865? Really? Where did a soldier in the battlefield get access to the document? Did they download the speech using Grandmaw's spinnin' loom? Whatever. Once it's passed, the movie quickly moves into best of Director's territory with an engrossing history lesson about what is to me anyway a little known bit of history.
In 1865, the U.S. Civil War was moving to conclusion, and Lincoln and his closest advisor, Sec. of State William H. Seward (He of Alaska's "Seward's folly), played brilliantly by David Strathairn, realized that the Emancipation proclamation was, as a wartime executive order, bound to expire when the war ended. In order to realize their abolitionist commitments, they needed to organize a constitutional amendment - it's 13th- to end slavery. And they needed to do it FAST, because if the ratification didn't come before the surrender, it never would. All support, tenuous as it was anyway, would evaporate as the war horror ended.
What follows is some fairly dense, but thoroughly engrossing delving into 19th century politicking. Eventually Lincoln, along with his political allies, such as fervent abolitionist Republican US House rep. Thaddeus Stevens, played by Tommy Lee Jones, carried the amendment to passage.
Along the way, courtesy of a master performance by Daniel Day Lewis, we are given glimpses of the Presidents private family life in the White House, his marital problems with his grief crazed wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, played by a devastating Sally Field, and his delicately sweet relationship with his young son, Tad, as well as his older, adult son, Robert. We are shown Lincoln's folksy, disarming humor, and his penchant for storytelling, with a couple of really good ones, that he used as a way of disarming his opponents. Lincoln's genius for coalition building, as they fought and lobbied to get the votes for passage, is portrayed, and we get to watch a group of lobbyists, using any tactic - even Tamany hall type bribery, to achieve the President's ends. Everyone used deception to achieve his ends, as happens still today, tomorrow and till the earth stops spinning.
Now about the performances. Every one of them was amazing. Lewis's performance I have already mentioned, and I'll predict an Oscar win. It's everything Oscar loves to honor. Deservedly so. And I'll say that I think that Sally Field deserves another Oscar for her excruciating, devastating performance as Mary Todd Lincoln. It was everything I hoped it would be - and then some. I liked her. I really really liked her!
Joseph Gordon-Levitt Plays the rebellious older son Robert effectively. He's most especially good in a scene where he witnesses the gruesome violence of war, replete with mangled, dismembered limbs dropped into a pit and covered with lye. That overall is one of the more memorable scenes in the film. Memorable also is the scene where Lincoln and Mary show down in an electric scene where she accuses him of blaming her for their young son's death three years previously and she completely breaks down in hysteria.
And Tommy Lee Jones is ....well... is the man even capable of a bad performance? is there no film he can not or will not steal? A riveting, mesmerizing display as Stevens, a man who uses deception at a crucial moment in order to achieve freedom for millions.
Also amazing was James Earle Haley as Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens.
The list of top shelf performances is long.
Attention to period detail was extensive, and the art direction, makeup, wardrobe all was excellent. Kaminsky's camera was staid and unobtrusive, with some interesting compositional shots. There was an excessive amount of grain I noticed. I know Spielberg will never make the leap to digital shooting. He told me so Himself (shameless name drop). I saw a digital presentation, and the grain was a little distracting. What? did he shoot amamorphically, in 35mm?
A any rate, a fine picture, and a well written, meaty one. Light on the Spielcrap.
Looking forward to seeing this one!
ReplyDeleteConsider this one firmly on my list. Excellent work, Mr C
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