Steven Spielberg's Lincoln is as bold, complex and inspiring as the man it depicts, an American president regarded as one of the greatest in that nation's history. Thankfully, however, it's not an idealised portrait of Abraham Lincoln, although one does come away with a heightened respect and even affection for the man, due in large part to Daniel Day-Lewis' astonishing, magnetic portrayal.
Even outside the United States, Lincoln is something of an iconic figure, his personal legend, striking physical presence and skill as an orator creating an indelible image in the collective consciousness. But Spielberg and Day-Lewis humanise him while also presenting the smart, pragmatic mind and ceaseless drive behind some of the most pivotal moments in American history.
And it does so without excess sentimentality. This may seem an unexpected move on the filmmaker's part – Spielberg has often proven himself a master manipulator, and a story like Lincoln's would seem a good match for that kind of approach.
But in recounting the efforts by Lincoln and his colleagues as they use methods fair and (slightly) foul to pass the 13th Amendment to the Constitution – which would see slavery formally abolished – before the long, bloody Civil War comes to an end, the film takes a formal, measured tone, one that's appropriate but also compelling, and it makes Lincoln a truly engrossing and stirring story.
