Movies. In 1865, as the American Civil War winds inexorably toward conclusion, U.S. president Abraham Lincoln endeavors to achieve passage of the landmark constitutional amendment which will forever ban slavery from the United States. He offers jobs, promotions, titles and pork barrel spending. Plot Summary: During the last months of his second term from 1861 to 1865, the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, fought to end slavery by adhering a course of action arranged to end the Civil War, abolish slavery forever, and unite the North and the South. 55 minutes per class. Its main theme is technically based on the last months of Abraham Lincoln the president of United States of America. Surname 1 Name Professor Course Date The Lincoln Movie Analysis More than forty characters in the movie are based on historical figures. Lincoln biographer Ronald White critiques the accuracy of Stephen Spielberg's new film about the Great Emancipator. The film had a limited opening in 11 theaters with $944,308 and an average of $85,846 per theater. The amendment also requires the support of several Democratic congressmen to pass. The White House is less a temple of state than a gathering place for wheelers and dealers. Despite the excellent performances turned in by the star-studded cast, Lincoln has a number of shortcomings from the historian’s point of view. She has already lost one son in the war and fears to lose the other. The rest belongs to history. However, his task is a race against time, for peace may come at any time, and if it comes before the amendment is passed, the returning southern states will stop it before it can become law. The hallmark of the man, performed so powerfully by Daniel Day-Lewis in "Lincoln," is calm self-confidence, patience and a willingness to play politics in a realistic way. Lincoln remains adamant about having the amendment in place before the war is concluded and the southern states readmitted. He is concerned that his 1863 Emancipation Proclamation may be discarded by the courts after the war, and the proposed Thirteenth Amendment will be defeated by the returning slave states. This ambience reflects the descriptions in Gore Vidal's historical novel "Lincoln," although the political and personal details in Tony Kushner's concise, revealing dialogue is based on "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln" by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Meets once. Like Spielberg’s Amistad (which Lincoln so often visually resembles, with its smoky interiors and heavy shadows), Lincoln is a tremendously long and talky movie – a … A voice-over says that the rebels (Confederates, or rebs) "killed every negro soldier they captured at Poison Springs... so at Jenkins Ferry, we decided we weren't taking no reb prisoners." The film was directed and produced by Steven Spielberg in the comprehensive pictorial representation of political life. With the nation embroiled in still another year with the high death count of Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln brings the full measure of his passion, humanity and political skill to what would become his defining legacy: to end the war and permanently abolish slavery through the 13th Amendment. However, the country is in turmoil with the Civil War entering its fourth year and having taken the lives of many a soldier on both sides. I still recall from a childhood book the image of him taking a piece of charcoal and working out mathematics by writing on the back of a shovel. It's January, 1865, and US President Abraham Lincoln has just started his second term in office as an immensely popular leader, especially among his supporters, because of his down home attitude. At his side is his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln (Sally Field, typically sturdy and spunky), who is sometimes seen as a social climber but here is focused as wife and mother. The movie Lincoln, directed by the infamous Steven Spielberg, is based on the life of Abraham Lincoln and his efforts to pass the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which would abolish slavery completely. Magdalena Mata. Since, as a historian, I often speak to audiences about Lincoln’s life and his murder, I have been receiving a lot of questions about the film. Hayly De Witt Film Analysis: Lincoln The movie Lincoln directed by Steven Spielberg explores Lincoln’s presidency during the American Civil War and provides the viewer with a firsthand look on the affairs of the Civil War. Mary Lincoln was not … Lincoln Movie Review Summary. Perhaps the best aspect of the movie is Day-Lewis’s portrayal of Lincoln. It opened at the #15 rank, becoming the highest opening of a film with such a limited release. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. Lincoln Review. Lincoln had two primary strategic goals: (1) ending slavery; and, (2) … | His Lincoln is not a distant statue of a man, known mainly for the Gettysburg Address and an iconic beard. Patience and perseverance pay. Synopsis eNotes plot summaries cover all the significant action of Lincoln. What sort of film did Spielberg hope to make? He had less than a year of formal education and taught himself through his hungry reading of great books. In the film, the passage of the amendment is guided by William Seward (David Strathairn), his secretary of state, and by Rep. Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones), the most powerful abolitionist in the House. The Radical Republicans fear the amendment will be defeated by some who wish to delay its passage; support from Republicans in the border states is not yet assured. One of the things that I found most intriguing in the movie was the depiction of Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. Due to the widespread success of Lincoln, Disney produced additional prints of t… In the closing scene, Lincoln delivers his second inaugural address. The film focuses on the final months of Lincoln's life, including the passage of the 13th Amendment ending slavery, the surrender of the Confederacy and his assassination. Many of the combatants are black. 962 Words | 4 Pages. Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” (2012) is a two-and-a-half hour film that zeroes in on a defining moment from near the end of the Civil War –January 1865 and the debate over the proposed amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery. Steven Spielberg directs two-time Academy Award® winner Daniel Day-Lewis in "Lincoln," a revealing drama that focuses on the 16th President's tumultuous final months in office. Day-Lewis' performance is a brilliant character study of a legendary man. Based on Doris Kearns Goodwin's award-winning book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln is more about the political intrigue of Lincoln's final months than a "biopic" about his personal life. Spielberg's "Lincoln" focuses on a political battle rather than a military campaign, and on the last few months of Lincoln's life. | Haller and his investigator Frank Levin (William H. Macy) analyze the pictures and evidence, notably the injuries the victim sustained. The capital city of Washington is portrayed here as roughshod gathering of politicians on the make. It was nominated for numerous Oscars. The movie was a very accurate depiction of what these four months were like for Lincoln, using many facts that are less known to most Americans. The film tries to portray these characters as from the past and the time of setting the movie depicts. The Amendment has already passed in the Senate, and is scheduled for vote in the House of Representatives at the end of the month. From the initial scene the cruelty of the war is clearly shown, mostly against African American soldiers. There is an earlier shot, when it could have ended, of President Lincoln walking away from the camera after his amendment has been passed. Created by. Sally Field and Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln, ‘a film concerned with what we can learn from the study and contemplation of history’. Lincoln is not above political vote buying. Kushner also smoothly weaves the wording of the 13th Amendment into the film without making it sound like an obligatory history lesson. Menu. The movie’s plot is focuses on the end of the war and the attempt to pass an amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery. Most of the film unfolds in January 1865, shortly after Lincoln’s reelection, when he knows that the North is going to win the Civil War. He feels it imperative to pass the amendment beforehand, to remove any possibility that freed slaves might be re-enslaved. thebriannachavarria1. It bears a similarity to a past case of Haller's that landed a previous client, Jesús Martínez (Michael Peña), in jail for murdering a woman, despite always proclaiming his innocence. Philip French. I've rarely been more aware than during Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" that Abraham Lincoln was a plain-spoken, practical, down-to-earth man from the farmlands of Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. There is one scene in the movie between Lincoln and Robert that is pure Hollywood, however. Parents Guide, From Best to Worst: Jackie Earle Haley Movies, The opening scene is a brutal, muddy melee. Lincoln must, by almost any means possible, obtain enough votes from a recalcitrant Congress before peace arrives and it is too late. Actors: Daniel Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, James Spader. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/jan/24/lincoln-review Lincoln Movie Analysis One-Time Class . The hallmark of the man, performed so powerfully by Daniel Day-Lewis in "Lincoln," is calm self-confidence, patience and a willingness to play politics in a realistic way. The camera cuts to show the speaker, a black soldier in an army camp talking to someone who after a few seconds is revealed to be President Abraham Lincoln (. Plot Keywords There is no documented evidence that Lincoln ever slapped his son Robert Todd, and to do so would have been very unlike Lincoln's nature. With dozens of Democrats being lame ducks after losing their re-election campaigns in the fall of 1864, some of Lincoln's advisers believe he should wait for a new Republican-heavy Congress. The film ends soon after Lincoln's assassination. 16th President Abraham Lincoln. Having great courage, acumen and moral fortitude, Lincoln pushes forward to compel the nation, and those in government who oppose him, to aim toward a greater good for all mankind. Lincoln, when a boy, was occasionally slapped by his own father. The “Lincoln” movie drew rave reviews from critics and audiences all around the world. The book is well-titled. Complete summary of Gore Vidal's Lincoln. He is soft-spoken, a little hunched, exhausted after the years of war, concerned that no more troops die. Match. Mary Todd Lincoln (Sally Fields) is portrayed as a more or less sympathetic character, in accordance with more recent scholarship rejecting long-standing depictions of Mrs. Lincoln as a shrew, possibly suffering from a mental illness. Neither these nor any other performances in the film depend on self-conscious histrionics; Jones in particular portrays a crafty codger with some secret hiding places in his heart. As the American Civil War continues to rage, America's president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves. In January 1865, President Abraham Lincoln expects the Civil War to end soon, with the defeat of the Confederate States. This series started here and we have 26 volunteers to do scene-by-scene breakdowns of contemporary movie scripts. Major kudos to Paul Graunke for doing this week’s breakdown. With the assumption that the Civil War would end in one month, however, Abraham feels it it is imperative to pass the amendment by the end of January, … Abraham Lincoln has featured in countless movies, but comparatively few have devoted their … Film Reflective Essay on Lincoln During week eleven of class, we watched the 2012 film, Lincoln, produced by Steven Spielberg. 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