Daniel Day-Lewis wakes from his three year acting hibernation to play Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s biopic. The film follows our country’s sixteenth President for the four months up to his untimely death. The beginning of the movie, filled with dialogue saturated senate debates surrounding the Thirteenth Amendment, is fatiguing but imperative. Blink and you’ll miss something. Using the Civil War as a backdrop, Spielberg does a masterful job displaying the tug of war involved in abolishing slavery. However, I was disappointed by the lack of African American presence in the movie. There were a few black soldiers shown during the war scenes, but there was no sight of the African Americans who were deeply involved in the Abolitionist Movement (e.g., Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman). Day-Lewis solidifies himself as one of the best method actors of all time by absolutely nailing Lincoln. Sally Fields doesn’t disappoint as Mrs. Lincoln, diving deep into the psyche of the somewhat disturbed First Lady. Also, Tommy Lee Jones has a noteworthy performance as the grumpy but compassionate Thaddeus Stevens. The movie is a beautiful marriage between an informative history lesson and a captivating epic. One that may be too cerebral for youth but perfect for the middle aged and young adult. 981