Lincoln is Steven Spielberg’s apt expression of mastery over the cinematic form of language. Together with the aesthetics utilized in the film, the plot makes the work really engaging and leaves the audience under the bewitching experience of having seen this masterpiece. Every aspect of the film’s technicality renders paramount stature to the artwork and adds to the affect. The technical aspects simply do not draw attention toward themselves, but holistically converse with the audience and leaves a mark. Lincoln is a quintessential example of a period film that has touched innumerable hearts.
However, this film has received accolades for the great work and has also been on the receiving end of criticism for the same artistic choice portrayed in the film. The film focuses on the time or debating and politicking on the 13th Amendment through the House. This may be seen as the perfect portraiture of the political process that prevails with glory and corruption. On the other hand, some may view it as the narrowing as a betrayal of the actual tale of the emancipation of the blacks. They might argue that this emancipation was more settled on the ground, rather than being inside the closed doors of the House.
Grant Havers in the book Lincoln and the Politics of Christian Love argues that the ideas of Lincoln are more comprehensible to individuals who are well-versed in the Bible. It is evident that the President nurtured the belief that the population of the North and South were capacious enough to feel the injustice meted out through the norm of slavery. This understanding found its roots in the Bible instead of any mathematical or logical reasoning.
Being the President of a nation that was divided, Abraham Lincoln was under the assumption that the people who lived in the South were good in nature. This is a very important visualization as it depends on deductive reasoning. Some argue that Christianity is not the ideal foundation of real universal politics because the self-evident truths cannot be taken as exclusively Christian. It needs to be taken into account that the liberty and equality promised in Declaration of Independence implies that the truth needs to transcend beyond religious barriers. However, the President’s view of the matter cannot be explained by this logic.
The other aspects of the film’s aesthetics include the production design which delivers convincing portraitures. The cinematography by Janusz Kaminski portrays the images exquisitely on the screen. The director places his actors in front of the windows and the scenes gush forth with a torrent of light rays on the screen, pointing to the paramount figure in context of the abolition of slavery. The audience can find the presence of linear perspective. Here, the parallel lines are shown to be converging, thus rendering the scenes the illusion of great depth as well as distance. The stalwart director also utilizes the charm of aerial perspective in the portraiture of the story. He focuses on the effect of distance in the appearance of an object. Thus, with the distance between the audience and the object having been enhanced, the detailed view of the object escapes the view.
The influence of the illusionistic form of art by Rembrandt is evident in the film. This helps creating the surreal charm around the story and uplifts the aura of Lincoln. Cameo lighting is also used by the makers of the film. A spotlight is used as an aesthetic technique to accentuate a single person in a particular scene. The figure is thus set against a background which comes across as comparatively darker. This helps in enhancing the focus. Also, silhouette is used to enhance the dramatic effect of the film. This makes the image of a person being projected to the audience as a solid shape of a single color. The whole is shown in a light color with the figure being left featureless.
Another quintessential aspect of the film is the background score by John Williams. His work is greatly recognizable as it supplements the film’s affect by simmering in the scenes along the film. The director lets the actors garner the attention of the audience. He does not use the patented wide-eyed close-ups and the moves of the camera. The depth and the volume of the 3D view enhance the aura of the film drastically.
The director uses objective time measuring the durations of time along with the indifference of the absolute present. Spielberg also incorporates subjective time in the story where he portrays the subjective experience of duration of the characters to amplify the affect of the film.
Lincoln, as a piece of cinematic art, reflects the passion which unites America and also puts to question the ravaging scars that leave the political structure to be questioned. The team of creative artists, who toiled day in and day out behind making this film a success, did not essentially aim to portray Lincoln as a hero. He is rather portrayed as an individual who longed to make America a better place.
References
Morrissey, C.S. (2012, Dec19). Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’: Politics as Mathematics. The Catholic
World Report. Retrieved from http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/1822/
spielbergs_ilincolni_politics_as_mathematics.aspx#.UZjWmqI3Cmg
O’Brien, G. (2012, Nov 21). ‘Lincoln’: A More Authentic Wonderment. The New York Review
of Books. Retrieved from http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/nov/21/lincoln-
authentic-wonderment/
