Lincoln (2012)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Lincoln (2012) -- S. Spielberg

Daniel Day Lewis is a folksy off-color but wise Abe in this re-telling of the last days of Lincoln, falling not far from where Henry Fonda might have wound up if his portrait of Young Mr. Lincoln had gone on (that voice!).  Spielberg's film exels at creating drama around the passage of the 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution (to outlaw slavery) and the congressional shenanigans needed to get the bill passed (aided indubitably by James Spader as Bilbo).  However, as good as Day Lewis is, the character study seems thinner than the ace replications of 19th century battlefields and chambers might lead you to believe.  It's not that he hasn't fully dissolved into this character with all his stories and speeches, it is just that we feel kept at a distance, despite the intimate moments on offer (between him and Sally Field, or the random generous moment with another human, black or white, high or low status).  But that's probably more Spielberg than Day Lewis -- or perhaps that's how Lincoln really was.