Movie Review: Lincoln (2012)

"Lincoln" is Steven Spielburg's historical drama covering four months of President Abraham Lincoln's life with the focus on his efforts to pass the Thirteenth Amendment.  Daniel Day Lewis stars as President Lincoln who is concerned that the impending end of the Civil War will end his efforts to end slavery through constitutional amendment.  Sally Fields co-stars as First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln and Tommy Lee Jones costars as Republican Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, a fierce abolitionist.

There's so much that I liked about this film but I have to begin with the lead actor, Daniel Day Lewis, who really embodied President Lincoln and brought him to life.  Great performance.  I liked Sally Fields but was blown away with Tommy Lee Jones.  He was really great especially in several key scenes.  Look for a small appearance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Robert Todd Lincoln, the President's eldest son.  Overall I thought the direction, costuming, and cinematography were great as history was really brought to life.  My only quibble is that the film really felt long as if it could have ended several times before it actually did.  I'm sure there was so much material that it was difficult to edit down but I felt like I was watching a film that could have been made into a two-part mini-series.

Great acting though it felt a bit long-winded - A-

Movie Review: The Iron Lady (2011)

I so wanted to love this movie!  "The Iron Lady" is a biographical film starring the amazing Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  The film shows Thatcher as an elderly woman struggling with dementia, the death of her beloved husband, and haunted by her memories from her political career.  Through her memories the film flashes back to her early political career as Thatcher broke through gender barriers to eventually lead the Conservative Party.  Some major events from her time as Prime Minister are shown including her decision to retake the Falkland Islands and then her fall from power.

I thought that this film had some definite positives including an amazing performance by Streep.  This is truly one of her bests as she really took on Thatcher's character.  I have to credit hair, makeup, and wardrobe as well for enabling Streep to take on Thatcher's appearance.  Unfortunately despite Streep's performance I just didn't like the script.  This film takes one of British history's most powerful women and really focuses on her as this pitiful shell of her former self in her elder years.  I wish the film had taken a different angle and focused more on how she developed from the dutiful daughter working in her father's grocery shop into a major political force especially when she had to push against so many barriers at the time against women.  I don't mind her being shown as humbled and defeated but it just seems that the film had a definite angle and it was overdone.  This almost could've been two maybe three different movies: one being a political documentary, another being the story of a woman with dementia grieving her husband, and maybe a third movie about a woman pushing against gender roles to take an active political role while sacrificing her traditional role as mother.  I think in general that when a film tries to be two or more films in one that the result is not favorable.

For the always wonderful Streep I give an A but for the film's script and overall focus I have to give it a B-.