Lincoln (2012)

Nominated for:  Best Picture, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Costumes, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Adapted Screenplay     I will admit, I thought this was just pure Oscar bait.  And I wasn't wrong, but that's not all it is.  It's also a damn good character study.

There's almost zero real action in it, so don't go in expecting some big Civil War pieces.  There's a very short scene in the opening credits but that's about it.  Everything in this movie relates to President Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) trying to get the 13th Amendment passed through the House of Representatives.  Even on a good day, this is not an easy task but complicating matters is the rumor of a delegation from the Confederate States.  Lincoln wants the bill passed to secure his legacy but the Democrats, led by Representative Wood (Lee Pace), refuse to consider it if there is a peace offer on the table.  The Republicans, led by Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones), do not have enough of a majority to simply run the bill through, so the Chief of Staff, William Seward (David Strathairn), recruits several men (John Hawkes, James Spader, and Tim Blake Nelson) to offer lame duck Democrats valuable appointed positions in exchange for their Yays.  Not to mention, the President has to deal with a son who wants to enlist (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a son that hasn't even left home yet (Gulliver McGrath), and a wife (Sally Field) who is still not over the death of her other son and is still suffering severe headaches from a previous carriage accident.

I am generally not one for character dramas but I will be owning this film.  Everybody involved did such a good job with their roles, probably because every single person in this film is famous.  Every line spoken comes from the lips of someone you'll recognize.  There are so many That Guy's in this film, I started looking to see if the extras were famous too.

So, Day-Lewis is practically dusting a space on his mantle already for that trophy but the one I really think it deserves is Best Adapted Screenplay.  The writing in this movie is so sharp, so perfect, I wanted to dismember the people in the theater who dared talk over them.  It's almost definitely got the Supporting slots sewn up and, so far, it's the lead for Best Picture as well.  The rest of the noms I think are just wet spaghetti thrown at the walls.  We'll find out if they stick but there are probably more deserving films in those categories.