Review: Lincoln + Django Unchained
Two of the most watchable movies of 2012 concern slavery. While one documents a moment of national importance, the other invents a sprawling revenge story. Both films are also prone to directorial overindulgence.
Lincoln
Daniel Day-Lewis simply is Abraham Lincoln. With his uncanny knack for transformation, Day-Lewis (more than most actors) uses his disguise as a way into the character: the beard and gray hair dye, the soft high-pitched voice, the crotchety but nimble walk. His Lincoln is a sage old storyteller and a dignified leader. How could he be otherwise in a Steven Spielberg movie? But screenwriter Tony Kushner is sly and writes the pricklier aspects of Lincoln, from an occasional vulgar anecdote to his troubled relationship with his son and with his wife. Sally Field, who hasn't had a good film role in years, doesn't shy away from a caustic, desperate Mary Todd Lincoln. Her Mary is deeply wounded by the loss of their son, but still determined to prove herself to the men's club of Washington. And what a men's club: The cast list is a who's-who of actors. I especially enjoyed James Spader, Jared Harris, and the scene-stealing Tommy Lee Jones.
The climate is war, and the political discourse is slavery.
Lincoln covers the battle brewing inside the House of Representatives over the Thirteenth Amendment. Kushner's taut script reportedly was whittled down from drafts that chronicled Lincoln's whole life. The end result is some of his most focused writing, with an energy to the dialogue that separates
Lincoln from PBS-pledge drive historical fare.
