Lincoln-The Gentle Giant

I think it's easy for Americans to forget that Presidents are just everyday people in extraordinary circumstances. Spielberg's "Lincoln" gives us a vision of both the everyday man and the grand statesman.

The story sits in front of the backdrop of the days leading up to the vote in the House of Representatives on the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery in the US with all its political wrangling. We meet all sorts of interesting characters. William Seward (David Strathairn), Lincoln's Secretary of State and closest adviser. Mary Todd Lincoln (Sally Field) Lincoln's wife, trying her best to appear cosmopolitan and hide her insanity and grief. The abolitionist Congressman Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones) and his sparing partner the Democrat Fernando Wood (Lee Pace). The political operatives asked by Lincoln and Seward to procure the votes for the amendment are perhaps my favorite, even though they are the most profane, William N. Bilbo (James Spader) and Colonel Robert Latham (John Hawkes).

And of course, there's Lincoln.  Daniel Day-Lewis is completely transformed into the Lincoln that I had in my head from grade school.  Tall, thin, bearded, and stooped, with his stove-pipe hat and black suit.  The first we see him, he is sitting out in the rain as Negro soldiers tell him of their valiantly fought battle and argue for Negro Army officers. Two young soldiers approach him and begin to quote the Gettysburg address to him. His self-effacing humor and concern for these young man is our first glimpse at the depth of this man's character. Day-Lewis plays Lincoln as a gentle man, who indulged his youngest son Thad (Gulliver McGrath) while he held his eldest son Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) fought to be noticed by his father. He portrays Lincoln as the last person to speak in the room and when he did speak he spoke in stories and parables to the chagrin of his friends and cabinet. This Lincoln was on a trajectory toward greatness despite himself because of his belief that all men are created equal.

Spielberg's masterful casting and storytelling makes this movie so much more than a history lesson. I connected with the characters and even found myself rooting for the amendment to pass, even though Civics class taught me long ago that it was so.