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==The portrayal of Lincoln and his family==
The casting of Daniel Day Lewis as Lincoln was an inspired one. He could capture the character of Lincoln. ‘Honest Abe’ was a complex man, he was in many ways an ordinary man and was genuinely modest and self-effacing. The movie also shows how Lincoln loved to tell a story and was a great story-teller. Day-Lewis also captures the other side of Lincoln the passionate orator and the fiery idealist who becomes convinced that the Civil War had a higher purpose and America a great destiny. Day-Lewis also captures the physical characteristics of Lincoln. Like Lincoln, Daniel Day-Lewis is tall, lean and has a tenor voice. A voice that was pleasing and critical to Lincoln’s success as a politician. The Anglo-Irish actor studied the appearance and mannerisms of the US President and this in large measure accounts for his ability to portray Lincoln so well. The movie also presents the character of Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, largely accurately. Sally Fields was like Lincoln’s wife as she too was petite. In the movie Lincoln’s wife tells him that she has only made him unhappy and that she was made. There is some convincing evidence that shows that Mrs Lincoln had mental health issues. However, there are some historians who argue that she was also a helpmate of Lincoln and gave him sound political advice. She is also shown in the movie, correctly as urging her third son not to join in the army. The Lincolns had already lost two sons in the war. Lincoln could get his son a position on the movie shows the Lincoln’s third son serving in the army of Grant and being present at the surrender of Lee at Appomattox Court House. This is all historically correct.
==How accurate was the movie Lincoln?==In many ways , Spielberg’s movie is very accurate. The director and producer bring Lincoln to life and present a key period in the history of America very accurately. The motion picture does capture the drama surrounding the passage of the vote of the 13th Amendment and Lincoln’s role in it. It shows very well the often-dubious tactics adopted by Lincoln and his supporters to get enough votes. The 2012 motion picture also captures the complex nature of the US President and his often-contradictory character and it presents a more plausible and realistic one that was shown previous Hollywood movie. The circumstances surrounding the vote are all excellently done and we get a real sense of American politics at the time. However, there are shortcoming and errors. For example, the chief one being that Lincoln is shown as being a committed abolitionist and this was not the case throughout the war. Then the movie does not show that slavery was collapsing in the south and that the 13th Amendment was only recognizing what was happening on the ground.
==References==
