Stephen Spielberg’s latest outing follows Daniel Day Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in his final few months as he fights to have the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution added by the House of Representatives. Daniel Day Lewis is on excellent form as usual giving a fantastic performance, but his performance feels uninspired and bogged down in a clunky and sluggish script. It lacks the charisma that the president was renowned for. Spielberg takes potentially interesting subject matter and turns it into what feels more like a two hour long political speech. The attention to detail is impressive; Spielberg and screenwriter Kushner were no doubt fascinated with the material but the delivery is much like the overriding cinematography, grey and drab. There are interesting moments though – the strain of a president under immense political pressure is well realised, as is the tumultuous relationship between Lincoln and his emotionally draining wife, played by Sally Field in an inspiring performance.
Biopics are a hard genre to get right and ultimately, Spielberg missteps here and fails to deliver a particularly impressive or memorable film. It’s by no means a bad film, but with his legacy when Spielberg delivers a distinctly average film it’s a huge let-down. Still, at least Lincoln’s not hunting vampires in this one though.
2.5 stars