Four straws and seven milkshakes ago...Lincoln!

I finally saw Spielberg's Lincoln!
Being one of the many Lincoln fanatics that litter Springfield, Illinois, I went with a skeptical attitude. But, the film won me over as good history and good entertainment.

I was happy to see anecdotes and themes I've read in Lincoln biographies represented in the film without any obvious historical falsehoods. Daniel Day-Lewis excellently tackles the trick of playing Lincoln as a human being, rather than a monument, in the way contemporaries describe his voice and manner. I enjoyed the portrayal of Lincoln's Hillary Clinton: Secretary of State William Seward, the New York Senator Lincoln beat in the primary election, who felt he was better qualified and perhaps more entitled to the Presidency, but who grew to deeply respect Lincoln. Mary Todd was portrayed with Herndon's less flattering view of her.

I would have enjoyed seeing Lincoln in his Springfield days, but Spielberg was right to focus on crucial months of Lincoln's Presidency when he simultaneously attempted to negotiate an end to the war and pass a Constitutional amendment banning slavery. There's a common argument that Lincoln doesn't deserve credit for ending slavery because the Emancipation Proclamation didn't free a single slave. That was true on the day it was issued, but it would free many as union armies progressed into the South. The film could have done a better job explaining that the Proclamation was an attempt to get wavering Southern states back into the Union, but it was gratifying to see Lincoln as an anti-slavery crusader while he passionately pushed for the Constitutional amendment.

A big surprise was Tommy Lee Jones' entertaining role as abolitionist Congressman Thaddeus Stevens. I saw one review that criticized the portrayal as not entirely accurate, but that misses the point. Any great historical biopic focuses on universal themes that reach beyond the time of the people portrayed.

The character of Stevens serves to illustrate the constant struggle in politics between compromise and ideals. Are you willing to delay your ultimate goal to reach the next achievable step? Are you willing to employ ignoble tactics to reach a noble victory?

In one of the most compelling scenes, Lincoln contemplates whether his broad use of executive power is justified and where the right to exercise power comes from. President Obama and Congress are struggling with the same questions today and that's why Lincoln is a great film.