Lincoln
Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Steven Spielberg may be the best director of the last millennium, but he’s apparently intent on making a significant impact in the new century, too. In Spielberg’s new film, Daniel Day-Lewis doesn’t merely look like Abraham Lincoln or affect his mannerisms, he brings insight to exactly the kind of man America’s 16th president really was; that is, neither hero nor villain, but a pragmatist who wanted to preserve the union of the United States. Lincoln wasn’t opposed to slavery on moral grounds, rather, he wanted to abolish the peculiar institution in order to gut the South’s ability to wage war against the North. After all, nearly four million slaves were pressed into service on behalf of the Confederacy’s war effort. We all know how the story ended, but it’s interesting to watch one’s man’s take on how it all unfolded. To get acquainted with the story from the perspective of the enslaved, read Alex Haley’s Roots. –p.d. lee
