Lincoln (2012) Director: Steven Spielberg

★★★★☆

Lincoln is loosely based on Goodwin’s highly successful historical account of President Lincoln’s cabinet, Team of Rivals. The screenplay was written by the successful writer, Tony Kushner.

The soft-spoken Abraham Lincoln is played by Daniel Day-Lewis, for which he won Best Actor from the Academy. The story covers the last four months of Lincoln’s life and his efforts to pass the Thirteenth Amendment -Lincoln’s battles with Democrats, the radical Republicans, and Confederates as he attempts to bring freedom to disenfranchised black Americans. The events of the plot lead up to Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s Theatre, and Lincoln now “belongs to the ages.” The film closes with a flashback to Lincoln’s second inaugural address.

It was nominated for an army of Academy Awards. The original idea for the film was to focus on the relationship between Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Additionally, Liam Neeson was originally scheduled to play Lincoln, but after studying the role he felt he had grown too old for the project. John Williams composed a beautiful score for the project.

Lincoln is not anything close to an accurate film, as President Lincoln is portrayed in a saintly manner hoping only to save the union and bring the vote and freedom to black Americans. However, Daniel Day-Lewis delivers one of the all-time great performances of an American President, it is certainly not an easy feat to capture the essence of President Lincoln.