Lincoln (2012)

Director: Steven Spielberg

 The title of this film makes it seem like it will be a full-fledged biopic of Abraham Lincoln's life, from the cradle to the grave, and reportedly that's what the filmmakers, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, did plan on in the beginning (he's one of my favorite historical figures so I would have been fine with that too). But instead, we get a film titled Lincoln that almost completely takes place within the time span of a few weeks in January 1865. The decision to center on just those few weeks during the battle to pass the 13th Amendment in the House of Representatives turns out to be a brilliant move. Lincoln is not a scattered biopic about a man, but a film about a specific moment in time that serves as a perfect example of the kind of man Lincoln was. The passing of the 13th Amendment shows us the self-interested world Lincoln occupied, and how he managed to the reality of the world and his own ideals together to actually achieve his goals while preserving the Union. It essentially looks at the main conflict of all politicians, which is to achieve the personal ideals each of them have while occupying a place within a group of people who all have so many various goals in mind.

But this is not just a fantastic film about Lincoln, because by showing us Lincoln's pragmatic nature Lincoln also turns out to be one of the best films I've seen about the nature of politics and democracy. The film may be centered on Civil War-era politics, but it is a film that applies to the politics in any part of the world at any time. Spielberg and Kushner aren't afraid to be remarkably honest about the often dark nature of politics. It's not a cynical movie about how everything is corrupt because we do see success, but it's also not naive about how that success was achieved. The passing of the 13th Amendment was a great accomplishment, but we see the not-quite-ethical tactics used and deals made by the men of the era that ended up aiding in the abolishment of slavery. Many have accused Spielberg in the past, myself included, of being too sentimental and naive in many of his dramas, but with Lincoln Spielberg has uncharacteristically made a procedural that is more grounded in its approach. Especially when compared to last year's overly sentimental crowd pleaser War Horse, Lincoln is a film that is not afraid to get down and dirty and look at the unflattering ways great things happen. Lincoln the man is a genius not because he believed in a higher ideal and inspired everyone around him to take a stand, but he we see that he was a genius because he was a pragmatist who knew how the world worked and knew how to get things done. Lincoln is a great film precisely because it does not show him as a saint, but as a great politician with a heart.

Grade: A-