Lincoln sneaks up on you. On paper, it sounds like homework: two and a half hours of men in dark coats arguing about votes in candlelit rooms. But I was hooked from start to finish.
The story covers the final months of the Civil War, as the president races to push the 13th Amendment through the House before the fighting ends. That’s it. No big battles. The war stays mostly offscreen. Yet watching politicians count votes turns into one of the tensest movies I’ve ever seen.
Much of the credit goes to Daniel Day-Lewis. He doesn’t play Abraham Lincoln so much as he becomes him. The high, thin voice threw me at first, but it’s drawn from how people at the time described him. Ten minutes in, I couldn’t picture him any other way. He’s funny, too. He loves launching into long, winding stories, his cabinet can barely stand it, and it gets a laugh every time.
The supporting cast is stacked. Tommy Lee Jones nearly steals the show as Thaddeus Stevens, a grumpy abolitionist who insults just about everyone in the room. Sally Field is fierce as Mary Todd, a mother still crushed by the loss of a son. James Spader is a blast as a sleazy fixer trading favors for votes.
Fair warning: it’s all about the dialog. If you want Saving Private Ryan, look elsewhere. Spielberg slows way down and lets the actors carry the load. Stick with it. By the final vote, I was holding my breath like I didn’t already know the ending.
History rarely feels this alive. Don’t miss it.
