Lincoln

nervously gives us more and more rope after an awful prologue, as though being in the presence of such great men and great words is slowly building up spielberg's faith in people, in the audience's capacity to think and feel for itself. while he never does anything really unexpected with the icon at its centre, for stretches he makes of him a complicated man as opposed to an embodiment of saintliness and inspiration. that's two parts DDL's gorgeously slippery performance, one part an unexpectedly hushed, respectful camera which lends kushner's meditation on compromise's place at the heart of politics an air of quiet melancholy.

of course, this is spielberg, so there are also a few Significant Moments ushered in with slow zooms and string warbles; the credits should've rolled after that walk away down the hall, but i suppose the tragic assassination rimshot was always coming. the vote is predictably dramatised for maximum suspense and ecstasy, achieving very little of either, whilst near everything without obvious historical import (the various familial dramas) slips away into biopic mush. but i don't think spielberg could've made a better, subtler lincoln than this - by all means, take that as the double-edged compliment i intend it to be.