Why 'Lincoln' is incredible.

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS.

One would expect a film about Abraham Lincoln to entail gruesome battle details of the American Civil War, loud canon fire, and the former president’s infamous assassination. One would think any film that carries the weight of such magnitude, between a star-studded cast, a prestigious director, and a historical drama will be nothing but an epic. This is not the case of Lincoln, however. While it is definitely a period-piece in artistic direction, it plays like a small indie film in many ways. There are no blood-soaked battles and Lincoln’s assassination is not even shown in the film.

The film exposes the emotion, heartache and moral compasses of our leaders in Washington during the war. At the helm is the president himself, dealing in stories and parables. While the war rages outside, the film’s plot encompasses the Federal Government battle over the 13^th Amendment, which would eventually free all slaves in the United States. Though the audience obviously knows the outcome, the journey of how the president and his fellow lawmakers get there is extraordinary. The man battles not only for the amendment, but on his own home front. He is tested on all sides, and we see powerful and raw emotion behind the giant man with a top hat and beard.

The parallels to our time, coupled with the timing of the film’s release, make it an extremely powerful piece. Spielberg’s Lincoln weaves in poetic rhetoric that is at times confusing, but leaves the audience with an insurmountable sense of importance.  His impeccable speech parallels that of president Barack Obama, whose rhetoric, if nothing else, has captivated the world and arguably won two elections.

One cannot overlook the opening scene, when president Lincoln is speaking with a black union soldier at the time of his re-election. The soldier says with much determination what the future will be for black people in this country, all the way up to the White House. And here we are, in the immediate aftermath of the re-election for the country’s first black president.

I do not usually cry in films of the historical or biopic genres. But in this film, my eyes welled up multiple times, at unexpected places. I watched drama unfold as many of the men who ran this country changed their stance from the ways they had been raised. They had the courage to sacrifice convention for what was right. Their attitudes towards the black population changed. There are lawmakers today fighting the exact same battle for same-sex equality. Though the message is hammered into one’s head during the film, it was extremely moving to see these powerful empathize with the minority. Another battle wages in our House of Representatives  today, and the same men (and now women) are changing their stance on the issue of equality. Lincoln belongs to the ages much more than history could ever predict. He lives today in the fight for equality.