Chris Luckett

19. LINCOLN (2012)

Release Date: November 9, 2012

Chronology: Spielberg’s most recent film, after 2011’s The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse

Box Office: $182 million ($188 million, adjusted for inflation)

Oscars: 12 nominations (including Best Picture), 2 wins (including Best Actor)

Premise: A look at the final four months of the life of the 16th president of the United States, as he strains to get the Thirteenth Amendment passed

Over two hours?: By a good margin

John Williams Score?: Yes

Father Issues?: Abe constantly neglects his children, especially Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), in favour of being father to a slave-free America

War?: The Civil War

Aliens?: Nope

Special Appearances: Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Lee Pace, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, John Hawkes, Jackie Earle Haley, Tim Blake Nelson, Joseph Cross, Jared Harris, Bruce McGill, Lukas Haas, Dane DeHaan, and Adam Driver

Fun Fact: Daniel Day-Lewis’s Oscar-winning performance was the first — and, so far, only — performance from any Spielberg movie to win an Academy Award.

Best Line: “Do you think we choose the times into which we are born? Or do we fit the times we are born into?”

Best Scene: 

Verdict: Daniel Day-Lewis gives one of the best performances of his career, deservedly winning an Oscar for it. The supporting cast and cinematography are also excellent, although the screenplay could use a lot of tightening. Despite the high calibre of much within the movie, Lincoln’s script is so overly long it feels like a first-draft that never got cut down. It may not be Spielberg’s longest movie, but it feels it.

Rating: 4 stars / 5