A Piece of History in Two and a Half Hours

Last Saturday, my brother called and asked if my parents, my other brother, and I wanted to go see the recently released movie entitled Lincoln directed by Steven Spielberg. The rest of my family seemed very excited to go see it, and I never turn down the opportunity to go see a movie, especially one directed by such an accomplished and talented director. Besides that, I love history so I was already intrigued. So, following our usual routine we show up to the movie theater five minutes before the 6:40pm showing... and almost crash into a tall man in a heavy winter coat. The line to the ticket booth was incredibly long. As we slowly approached the counter, I realized that more and more people were buying tickets for Lincoln. Long story short, we ended up changing our tickets to the 10pm showing in order to spare our necks from the pain of having to stare up at a huge screen for about 2 and a half hours.

The theater was absolutely packed. I could only stand there in wonder. This movie has really gotten people excited, and after watching it myself I can see why. From the intricacies of Congress to his personal life, this portrayal of Lincoln and the brief span that is covered in the film was filled with rich detail. It was hard to catch it all in just one viewing. I was so impressed with the sets as well as the truly amazing talent of Daniel Day-Lewis who played Abraham Lincoln. Not to discount the rest of the cast and crew who, with all of their skill and hard work, truly made the story come alive. It was just his performance was done in such a way that captured what I would consider the essence of Lincoln. From the funny stories to the distraught husband and father, he really encompassed a complete character, right down to the walk. The cinematography was truly a work of art as well. The cuts and the camera movements themselves drew you into what was happening on the screen.

The effect of the movie was probably the best part though. I was waiting by the exit for my dad, when I overheard one woman who said she was going to go home and look up some more information on Lincoln and his family. All I could think was that this was part of the reason I wanted to go into this industry. The ability to create such a spark in people so that they leave the theater still thinking, still wondering, and better yet, actually act on that curiosity and learn something they may have never thought of before. Even my U.S. history teacher in high school, agreed that it was a great film and was pretty accurate historically (and mind you, this is no easy feat).

Needless to say, I enjoyed this film very much, and whether or not you are a history lover like myself, you should definitely go experience this wonderfully produced story. It may seem like an old one that we hear about all the time in history class, but to see it in such detail and with such strength, you may be surprised that you learned something new. I certainly was. Here is the trailer:
~Amber Capogrossi