Lincoln

Instead of giving a full biopic of one of America's most famous leaders, Lincoln is set in the three months following his re-election as President. This small time-frame gives a sense of immediacy to Honest Abe's (Day Lewis) attempts to end the civil war and abolish slavery. Whilst dealing with the uprising of the southern states who want to split the country in two, he's also fighting with fellow politicians within his house of Congress, specifically those who find it impossible to believe that black people are their equals. This is 1865, an almost alternate universe where Democrats and Republicans hold the opposite positions to their modern counterparts, the idea of women being able to vote is laughable, and stove pipe hats are high fashion.

There is no hyperbole to be found when it comes to describing just how great Daniel Day Lewis is in this movie. He so completely becomes Lincoln - the gait, the mannerisms, the accent - that it is and always will be impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. Day Lewis deserves every award that he has coming to him. Right alongside him are some fantastic actors - Tim Blake Nelson, Jared Harris, Lee Pace, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, Joseph Cross, David Straithairn - all of whom leave an impression despite their limited screen time, with particular mention going to Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens. He is utterly brilliant and serves as the movie's comic relief and racial equality's staunchest flag waver. Unfortunately, not everyone is up to this standard; Sally Field as Lincoln's wife and Joseph Gordon Levitt as his son both fail to be anything but irritating, and every time the movie focuses on his family instead of the politics, interest begins to wane.

But this happens very rarely, thanks to a fantastic script by Tony Kushner, who writes dialogue like an olde time Aaron Sorkin, and Spielberg who presents it like a 19th Century version of The West Wing. Yes, this is mostly old bearded men discussing politics in stuffy rooms, but it's also intelligent, immaculately presented and profoundly current in its storytelling. This is not a movie to watch passively, as it demands your complete attention, and will reward you with an incredibly smart, entertaining movie that never once feels like a history lesson.