Lincoln

It’s a well-made history, akin to Amistad or Munich. The primary focus is not on Lincoln but instead on the 13th amendment and the mélange of characters who helped Lincoln and voted for it. All the talk has been about Daniel Day Lewis, but it’s the supporting parts that make this interesting: Tommy Lee Jones, James Spader, Lee Pace. It’s a movie about policy, which means that some of the big, climactic scenes involve men voting, which isn’t all that suspenseful since we know what happens. As good as it is, I didn’t feel like it was some transcendent, trail-blazingly original drama. It’s not that risky, and therefore, not that emotional. But it’s Spielberg’s best movie in years (Are we counting Tin-tin?)and a hearty and fulfilling enterprise.