After so much anticipation, “Lincoln,” which is a film about, well, you-know-who, hit theaters. And it was like the history books we’ve all had to fall asleep on––read, sorry –– except it was so thoroughly entertaining and colorful that it was one of the most magnificent American history lessons I’ve ever put my eyes upon.
“Lincoln” takes place in 1865 after the re-election of President Abraham Lincoln, as the Civil War drags itself along and the 13th Amendment is on its difficult trek to being pushed to a vote. The President is told he has a decision: Amendment or the end of the war. It’s the stuff students read in American history courses, but with such insights on the man Lincoln was.
The actors were so convincing, it was actually ridiculous: Sally Field radiated the First Lady and Joseph Gordon-Levitt was Lincoln’s son Robert, so eager to fight.
And Daniel Day-Lewis was the back of a penny. He was Lincoln, folks. It was fantastic.
The audience did not need to be history connoisseurs to enjoy the film. Somehow, these actors had fully and completely wrapped themselves in their roles as some of American history's greatest names and done them justice.
The dialogue was extraordinarily penned. Viewers were able to see Lincoln with a sense of humor and not just height and a hat. This was a moment in history put into artwork on a screen. The writers should be proud. They absolutely nailed it and should be nominated for an Oscar.
Tommy Lee Jones’s character, Thaddeus Stevens, has some of the wittiest, biting lines, to points where the rest of the audience chuckled in unison. Jones has a sure shot at earning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination.
Knowing a bit about the American Civil War –– how it hurt and how it split up the country, and knowing the struggle to end it –– that’s a taste of how it felt to see scenes that echo war time.
This film took the legendary push and vote of the 13th Amendment and made it impossible for audience members to look away, even though the ending is in every history book. There was suspense in that still, it was non-stop bustling and yelling and one can’t help but wonder how much grittier the fight for ending slavery could have gotten. The ending itself makes a case for a Best Picture nomination.
One way or another, "Lincoln" will be Oscar bound.
Grade: A
To email reporter: mob5349@psu.edu
