Abraham Lincoln - A Man Who Was Human

Hello, everybody! For the second time in two days, I am writing to you on "BirdieNumNuMilkshake" in order to fulfill the void of happiness in each and every one of your lives. (Also, I have a strict deadline to meet for my English professor, but those details are mere semantics). In today's post, I will be writing about one of my very favorite characters Daniel Day-Lewis has portrayed in his world renown film career: the 16th President of the United States Abraham Lincoln in "LINCOLN" (2012). And, as with yesterday's post on "THERE WILL BE BLOOD" (2007), I will provide context, and the reason why I have chosen such a niche topic.

To end our 2012 Fall Semester in my English 3210: Advanced Composition class, my classmates and I were tasked with completing a lengthy writing assignment of our choosing. It was favorably vague so as to give us, as students, more independence in choosing a topic that we might enjoy. I decided to focus on film, as this is a topic that stands out amongst others as one that I am passionate about. And, because I am a performer myself, there are actors that I look up to and admire greatly; chiefly amongst these are Daniel Day-Lewis (contemporary dramatic actor) and Peter Sellers (British comedic actor from 1950's-1970's). In completing yesterday's post on "There Will Be Blood," I am now nearly complete with this writing assignment. For each performer, I ultimately decided to complete a brief biography, movie reviews of my favorite film of each of theirs, and brief character analyses of my favorite characters each has portrayed throughout his respective career. So, as I said, with this, I am nearing the end, and could not be more torn up about it.

I will begin with "LINCOLN" (2012), and Daniel Day-Lewis' portrayal of our enigmatic, deified 16th President of the United States: Abraham Lincoln. [[SEE TRAILER BELOW]]

Abraham Lincoln: A Man Conflicted
In articles read from all over the critical spectrum on Steven Spielberg's passion project "Lincoln," one detail emerges as both consistent and ultimately noteworthy: Abraham Lincoln, although deified by the greater American population, was an ordinary man. He came from humble beginnings in Kentucky, and eventually moved on to Illinois - a Midwestern state known more for it's citizens' mild manners than any sort of glamor or excitement. Abraham Lincoln was no different, and Daniel Day-Lewis gives a portrayal worthy of those ordinary citizens.

Contemporary Doppleganger

Throughout the film, the audience is allowed personal, previously unprecedented access to the true life of a man who is seen everywhere. He is on our five dollar bill, and has a larger-than-life statue in our nation's capital, Washington, D.C. His assassination gave way to the Secret Service's expansion of duties from strictly enforcing laws of the treasury to the presidents' personal protectors. And, by the way, he loved to tell grotesquely funny stories to his friends and those within his personal circle. That is what is so wonderful and humane about Day-Lewis' portrayal; the Abraham Lincoln we see is as human as the lawyer father who lives down the street from us, who would love nothing more than to come home after a long day and enjoy a beer and board game with his son. The truth about Lincoln was that he was a self-taught scholar, never truly attending school in a formal group environment. His undeniable love and desire to read was seen as troublesome by his father, who would have rather had Abe be outside, and socializing with his friends. This was not a problem, as Abe became a burly young man, according to Daniel Day-Lewis, by lifting trunks of trees he would so often chop down. His imposing stature of six-foot-four-inches was unprecedented for the time and helped immensely in boosting his charismatic presence (Another hugely helpful factor here was the eery physical likeness and bone structure Day-Lewis shared with Abraham Lincoln).
Day-Lewis fulfilled his duties as "Actor-Playing-Lincoln" in these regards.

With all of this said, the single most important factor for the more accurate, human portrayal was Day-Lewis' vocal intonation. Historical scholars of the Lincoln era and personal Lincoln biographers have all consistently noted that "Abe" did not have a low, baritone/bass pitch to his voice, as is so often portrayed (the 'Hall of Presidents' at Disney World is the #1 culprit here, gang); rather, he had a rather high tenor voice that, according to Steven Spielberg, "Helped his voice to carry when giving speeches in public immensely." Daniel Day-Lewis' voice, much like Jim Carrey's face, is "clay-like": it can shift and eventually form into whatever the appropriate performer wants. His voice, while the appropriate pitch, was also a perfected Midwestern accent, and Spielberg told a story that, while in the preliminary stages of filming, he received a package from Daniel Day-Lewis with a skull and crossbones roughly sketched on the outside facade of the packaging. Inside the package was a tape recorder with a note that said "What do you think?" Spielberg played it, and the voice on the other end was what would become the voice Daniel Day-Lewis would speak in throughout the entire eight month shooting period; said Spielberg, "I felt I was listening to our President."

JGL as Robert Lincoln w/ Daniel Day-Lewis

Abraham Lincoln, as portrayed in "Lincoln," found motivation in everything he did deriving from the deep desire to pass the 13th amendment and abolish slavery. His dealings with his cabinet throughout the film largely deal with this desirous attitude he holds toward the end goal of freeing of hundreds of thousands in bondage. Coupled with these intensely portrayed interactions are intensely emotional interactions with his wife, Mary Todd (played by Sally Field), and his sons Tad (a young Gulliver McGrath) and Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). We see a man so torn in his daily life, but so convicted in his desire to abolish slavery. As with Daniel Plainview, Day-Lewis straddles an emotional line, and plays the soft-spoken, overly-intelligent Abraham Lincoln with his usual conviction and dedication.

As mentioned previously, Day-Lewis never broke character throughout the roughly eight months spent shooting the film; Steven Spielberg referred to him as "Mr. President" on the set; in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Joseph Gordon-Levitt said he never truly met Daniel until the wrap party, where he was as soft-spoken, approachable, and genuine over a glass of Guinness as the man he had just finished portraying.

In all, I felt as if though "LINCOLN" (2012) was masterfully done. But, more specifically, Daniel Day-Lewis' portrayal of Abraham Lincoln was sincere, earnest, and human; for the first time in 150+ years, we as the audience were given unprecedented access into the life of an American hero, and that access turned out to be more normal and down-to-earth than one might have previously thought possible.

WHAT comes next?
Well, you guys, with this post, I have all but completed the assignment at hand. There is one more I must complete, and I'll be briefly comparing the two careers and styles of Peter Sellers and Daniel Day-Lewis, giving my argument for why "method" acting is not genre-exclusive.

As always, thank you all so very much for taking time to read this. I welcome any comments below, and I do hope you've enjoyed what you have read so far.

Twitter: Chris_0Reilly

All of the Best,
Chris