Lincoln

   Probably the best movie I have seen since starting this blog. I was going to say it was the best movie I have this year, but seeing as how we are only 3 days into the year, that would seem kind of silly. This is another one that was different than what I was expecting, but I loved it even more! Instead of being about Lincoln from beginning to end, or through the Civil War, or anything like it, it was all about the enactment of the 13th Amendment. It was awesome and fascinating.
   Daniel Day Lewis was fantastic. So was Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sally Field, David Strathairnvid, James Spader, etc. This movie was chock full of awesome actors, and they all did well. All of the Golden Globe Nominations - Sally Field, Daniel Day Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, Stephen Spielberg - are all well deserved.
   As I said, this movie focuses on the final fight to get the 13th Amendment passed before the end of the war. It starts at the end of 1864, when Lincoln secured his second term, and ends with Lincoln's assassination in April, 1865. So, 2 hours and 50 minutes is spent on about 4 months of time. Lincoln needs the 13th Amendment to pass before the end of the war because otherwise it might never have happened. More than once, he explains why he is pursuing what his party thinks is both too much and too little at the same time so emphatically it is truly moving. I got goosebumps more than once when Daniel Day Lewis and Tommy Lee Jones were speaking.
   As far as I know, and from what I am told, this movie is almost entirely accurate, which makes it just that much better. It really is fascinating to see not only the methods used to get votes (some of which would end in a suit/conviction today), but also the response to those methods. What I originally thought was Honest Abe, the most honest person in the world, was proven to be more human and more important than I ever realized. You definitely should not show this to children because they cannot truly comprehend the importance of this man. However, this could be a great teaching tool for high school and maybe even college level history classes.
    In the end, I give this movie a 10 out of 10. It really was excellent.