The first trailer has finally arrived for Steven Spielberg’s long-gestating and highly anticipated biopic Lincoln, which stars Daniel Day-Lewis as the titular 16th President of the United States of America. Loosely adapted from Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Tony Kushner (Munich), the film focuses on Abraham Lincoln’s tumultuous final months in office, with the nation divided by war. Spielberg has gathered a massive ensemble cast for his historical epic, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Tommy Lee Jones, James Spader, John Hawkes, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jackie Earle Haley, Jared Harris, Lee Pace, Bruce McGill, Adam Driver, Walton Goggins, TIm Blake Nelson, Hal Holbrook and David Oyelowo. Spielberg said this handsome first trailer is just a “slight texture,” of the film and “an offering of the tone,” and it looks every bit as sweeping as expected, with what looks to be an impressive central performance from Day-Lewis — at least in the little we see of him here — who is obviously a shoe-in for a Best Actor Academy Award nomination. I’m hoping that Lincoln ends up closer to Spielberg’s great period epics such as Munich and Schindler’s List rather than the schmaltzy War Horse, and based on the incredible talent involved, the monumental and gripping true events, and this promising first trailer, I think it’s possible this could be one of his best.
Lincoln hits US theatres on November 9. Watch the first trailer below (via The Playlist).
