Lincoln
Entertaining, educational and features a plethora of Oscar winners/nominees. Lincoln is a beautiful looking film that will be played in classrooms for years to come. It will appease Lincoln nerds and the people who only know him as the funny guy in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
Richard Corliss from Time called the film “brain food.” What I love about Lincoln’s story is you think you know it all but there is always something to learn. The best thing about this film is that everybody is clearly enjoying telling his story. The job wasn’t easy, his life hard and the weight on his shoulders would crush anyone but him. The backroom deals, government maneuvering and James Spader acting cheeky were all necessary for the 13th amendment to pass. If the war ended Lincoln wouldn’t have been able to free the slaves without a massive governmental battle. He needed to postpone the peace treaty in order to free the slaves. So, he devised a scheme to pass the amendment under the guise of an act of war.
You know how it ends but you don’t know the backroom dealings that went into the 13th Amendment. Hundreds of men with unique facial hair yelled, schemed and bartered to have their beliefs known.
Tommy Lee Jones steal the show as Thaddeus Stevens. His character wanted nothing more that the independence of slaves and his veteran prowess steal the show away from the reliable incredible Daniel Day-Lewis. Jones captures the spirit of a man whom has fought in vain for many years and he wears it on his face. He will still fight with every fiber of his being but is forced to momentarily abandon his beliefs for the betterment of the world. His performance is my favorite because it seems as if Jones is actually trying and not looking for a paycheck or Spielberg credit.
Between Argo and Lincoln unmotivated teachers will have plenty of material to teach a quick lesson and entertain their classes with solid film making and wonderful hair.
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