Lincoln is a famous historical drama created by a talented producer Steven Spielberg and it was presented to the audience in 2012. The main character of the film is Abraham Lincoln, United States president serving from 1861 till 1865. This role was performed by Daniel Day-Lewis. Steven Spielberg has brought to the scene the events of the bloody Civil War and one of the most important moments of United States history – the abolishment of slavery. Putting the history forward, Spielberg does not concentrate on the personal issues and catastrophes of the president too much, but instead, he presents a precise picture of that historical period, providing audience with the exact portraits of the political figures.
Being re-elected for the second term at the end of 1864, Lincoln has the main purpose to put an end to the slavery. Even though, he issued an Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, he is aware that after the war is over, the slaves’ freedom will be discarded by the American courts. Thus, his wish is to propose and ratify Thirteen Amendment to the Constitution which will destroy slavery forever. However, this noble aim brings a lot of controversies. Ruling white class is comfortable with slavery as this is the basis of their economics and it brings them a great income. The only method influencing their decision and making them vote for abolishment of slavery is the promise to stop the war. Indeed, the battle is already coming to the end and in order to get the Thirteen Amendment, Lincoln encounters certain complications. The first thing is the matter of priority. What should be chosen: the end of death and suffering by finishing the war as soon as it is possible or postponing this process and implementing the eternal law of humankind that all people should be equal? A great will to destroy the slavery leads president to the principle stating that aim justifies the methods and he needs to get the supporting votes of his democratic opponents in not a fair way. However, this factor also shows that corruption was born in political system long time ago, even though it could presuppose only honorable intentions. Having the support of most of republicans, there are still states that will agree to this proposal only after the war is ended. On the other hand, if there is no war, most of politics will not see any sense in the Thirteen Amendment. In order to gain a complete support of Republican Party, Lincoln was forced to make a pact with its founder, Preston Blair (performed by Hal Holbrook), that piece will be reached as soon as it possible. Even though, the news about arrival of piece commissioners was announced by opponents to the politicians at the day of voting, president managed to deny it in such a way that he neither could be accused of false representation nor he could threaten the voting to be cancelled. It is very interesting that the character of Lincoln was not too canonized. He is not portrayed only as a smart leader and public speaker, but he is an ordinary man, that easily communicates with people as well as adds a funny story to each of his political conversations. His cabinet is always opened to the citizens and Lincoln does not hesitate neither speak to them nor to scrub the chimney on his knees. At the beginning of the film Lincoln is communicating with two black soldiers, discussing the social problems and then one of them added that he may be actually hired by the president after the war, however he “gets sick at the smell of boot black and cannot cut hair” (Lincoln), to which president carelessly replied:” I’ve yet to find a man who could cut mineMy last barber hanged himself”. During the meeting with his colleagues he recalls how he was once defending a 73-year old woman who murdered his husband at the age of 83 as a self-defense and in his will he stated: ”I expect, she has killed me. If I get over it, I will have revenge” (Lincoln). Such bright fables are presented throughout the whole plot and make the film much more interesting and captivating than the topic from the history book. It should be mentioned that historical drama is accompanied by the personal drama of the president: the death of his son Willie, the arguments with the wife who supports her husband but cannot forget the grief of their loss and the cross-purpose with his son Robert, willing to participate in War, while Lincoln cannot agree to it due to respect of his wife’s will and the fear of one more death, even knowing the son is right. Though the movie does not focus on inner world of the United States president, a few scenes are enough to show how strong should be Lincoln’s personality to combine the burden of his own catastrophes with the duty in the face of the whole nation. In the end, Thirteen Amendment was accepted and the dream of the sixteenth president of United States based on the will of their ancestors that “all men are created equal” (qtd in Lincoln) was successfully fulfilled. Happiness and joy of Americans depicted in that episode were contrasted by the final scene when the president was killed. It confirms the main truth of life: everything has its cost. Unfortunately, freedom is usually paid with blood. At the beginning of the film the price was war, at the end of the movie the price is the death of great leader. The second truth is that controversies always exist, as there is nothing absolute in this world; what is good for one person that cannot be acceptable for others. Such reasoning has appeared after watching Steven Spielberg’ Lincoln, as it both enriched the knowledge of that particular historical period and made to think about the logical system of the human history and its value in general. Definitely, the decoration, musical accompaniment, light representation of the scenario and excellent starring performance made this historical drama a masterpiece.
Works Cited
Lincoln Dir Steven Spielberg, Perf. Daniel Day-Lewis, and Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, and Tommy Lee Jones. Twentieth Century Fox, 2012. Film.
