Lincoln, Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Spielberg's Genius

Yesterday, my husband and I went to see the movie, Lincoln, by Steven Spielberg.  It was spectacular.  It was historically spot on, clearly presented, and the acting was so good that you were aware of how good it was even while totally immersed in the characters. 

The movie stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln, Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln and Tommy Lee Jones as the fiery, complex and barely controlled Rep. Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania.  The list of excellent actors, each perfectly suited to the character portrayed, is as long as the credits at the end of the film.  Much of the movie centers on the passage of the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution, banning slavery forever in the United States of America.   I have read the biography, Lincoln, by David Herbert Donald and Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by Doris Kearns Goodwin, the book from which much of the movie was taken.  They bear out the accuracy of the film.

Daniel Day-Lewis must have studied the man like a religious convert.  It seemed that the spirit of Lincoln himself chose to occupy this actor.  Daniel Day-Lewis did not play Lincoln; he was Lincoln.  There is much evidence that President Lincoln suffered from Marfan Syndrome—a genetic condition characterized by exceptional height, elongated limbs, and fingers and a bent spine.  This disease would be evident in his posture, walk and mannerisms.  Day-Lewis has these mastered to perfection.  A scene of absolute perfection is where Sec. Stanton and Lincoln, moments earlier at odds with one another, spontaneously clasp hands as they listen to the telegraph tap out the news of the attack on Wilmington, North Carolina.  Sitting in a darkened theater, I gasped with the intensity of the scene. 

Of course, we want to love Lincoln, the man who kept the Union together in the blackest period of our national history.  Lincoln had right on his side.  Mary Todd Lincoln, played by Sally Field, is a different kind of character.  Mary Lincoln was not a likeable woman.  The best we can say about her role in the marriage was she at least assured that the President and his First Lady were co-dependent.  We know that she was emotionally unstable and abusive of her husband on every level.  She did not make his life easier.  Instead, she added layers of misery on his bent, weighted shoulders.  Yet, they appeared to be devoted to each other.  They certainly loved the children they had together.  Who would take on a role of such limited empathy but unlimited complexity?  Sally Field not only took it on, she made it as much hers as Daniel Day-Lewis did Lincoln. 

First of all, by luck, talent and design, Sally Field looks like Mary Todd Lincoln.  When you see pictures of them both, they could at least be sisters.  Then you have Field’s theatrical acumen.  I have loved this woman’s range and talent for decades.  Whether in comedy or drama, Ms. Field sells every role she takes on.  In Steel Magnolias there is a long shot of her marching down the hall of a hospital.  In that scene, she is—exactly—every mother ever called to a daughter’s bedside.  Only Sally Field would have both the courage and the talent to play this unlovely woman and make us feel for her, hope for her, and care for her.  I hope there is an Oscar in her future for this role.  She deserves it.  Come to think of it, so do Daniel Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, and Steven Spielberg. 

Live your history and keep the faith.