If you walk into Lincoln expecting to see lots of Spielberg-esque Civil War battle scenes, you'll probably be disappointed. There isn't much of that there. It's probably the least Spielberg-esque Spielberg movie I've ever seen. That's not to say it doesn't have his stamp on it. But that never took me out of the story, like it has with some of his other films. The film focuses on the last few months of President Lincoln's life, particularly on the passage of the 13th Amendment. It grabbed me from the opening scene, in which Lincoln is speaking to a pair of young black soldiers, both of whom handle themselves with more grace and confidence in the presence of the President than the two young white soldiers who briefly interrupt the conversation. One of them is able to recite Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, a moment which sets the tone of racial tension that, not surprisingly, runs throughout the film. I liked that the focus of the film was on politics more than battle. Makes sense, since Lincoln wasn't on the battlefield. But I thought it was interesting to see how politics were played. Lincoln obviously believed slavery was immoral. But that didn't stop him from having a black housekeeper (or from blatantly saying that he'll "get used to her people" having greater freedoms if his amendment passes), and his fight for the 13th Amendment was as much about weakening the Confederate economy as it was about ending slavery. Daniel Day-Lewis is flawless as Abraham Lincoln. So much so, that I forgot that that was not actually Abraham Lincoln on the screen in front of me. He's got some strong supporting performances around him, particularly Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln and Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens, but Day-Lewis really carries the film.
I've heard mixed reactions to Les Miserables, but I really enjoyed it. I'm a fan of the play, so I was sort of predisposed to like it. The film looks beautiful, and I really liked that the singing was done live during filming, rather than having the actors pre-record their vocals. It added emotional depth to the music and lent a little bit of the live theatre experience to the film. I was a little disappointed that one of my favorite songs from the play, "Little People," was mostly cut, but in context, I can understand why. I could have done without some of the close ups on actors' faces. Some, like the one during "I Dreamed a Dream" were effective, but in general, I felt that the technique was overused. The best part of it for me were the performances. As Fantine, Anne Hathaway proves to be a much better actress than I previously gave her credit for, and this is one of the finest performances I've ever seen from Hugh Jackman. I also liked Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as the Thenardiers; they brought a much-needed levity to the otherwise emotionally draining story. There were a few that didn't stand out so much. Eddie Redmayne (Marius) didn't really win me over until "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables," and it took me a while to warm up to Russell Crowe as Javert. I thought Amanda Seyfried and Samantha Barks as Cosette and Eponine, respectively, were a little one-dimensional. Barks less so than Seyfried. But those characters are written that way, and both sang their parts very well. Barks did manage to overcome that and deliver an emotional death scene. None of the performances are terrible, though. Overall, I'd recommend it, unless you hate musicals.
