And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Lincoln!
Yep, another movie that had success in it's day but somehow passed me by. But then again, does anyone really care when you come to a movie?
You know, if you're going to make a movie about one of the most beloved US Presidents, then you may as well go all out and get the best people for the job: Steven Spielberg in the directors chair, John Williams for the score, Tony Kushner for the screenwriting, Janusz Kaminski for photography and as many character actors as one can muster. But really this is all Daniel Day-Lewis' show: He breathes new life into Lincoln, changing the perception of an actor inhabiting a role and into flat-out resurrection.
I've heard that both Day-Lewis and Spielberg invested a lot of research into the Honest Abe and it shows. The Lincoln here has plenty of humanity brought to the forefront and is intent on breaking down the myth to show the man.
As for the rest of the film, it's a mixed bag: On one hand it, there are signs it's operating like a heist movie with the 13th Amendment being the prize. But on another, it is political drama with all the skulduggery that comes with it.
But this is clearly the most Oscar-bait of movies, as it ticks all the right boxes: It is a historical drama. It has a lead with proven Oscar success. It has a stacked cast. It is telling the inspiring story of someone who changed history, stuck up for the oppressed and had to evade the nay-sayers to do so.
Given such observations, they are hard to avoid and did effect my enjoyment of this movie.
But let's be honest: is Day-Lewis' performance enough to make this film? Damn straight it is.
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