Steven Spielberg Director

Daniel Day-Lewis

Sally Field

David Strathairn

Tommy Lee Jones

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Hal Holbrook

James Spader

John Hawkes

Jackie Earle Haley

Tim Blake Nelson

Bruce McGill

Joseph Cross

Jared Harris

Byron Jennings

Lee Pace

Dakin Matthews

Gloria Reuben

Jeremy Strong

Walton Goggins

David Oyelowo

Gulliver McGrath

Richard Topol

Grainger Hines

S. Epatha Merkerson

Julie White

Gregory Itzin

Lincoln

Directors

Actors

Abraham Lincoln

Mary Todd Lincoln

William Seward

Thaddeus Stevens

Robert Todd Lincoln

Francis Preston Blair

W.N. Bilbo

Robert Latham

Alexander Stephens

Richard Schell

Edwin Stanton

John Hay

Ulysses S. Grant

Montgomery Blair

Fernando Wood

John Usher

Elizabeth Keckley

John Nicolay

Wells A. Hutchins

Actor

Tad Lincoln

James Speed

Gideon Welles

Lydia Smith

Elizabeth Blair Lee

John Campbell

Page 2.

Assignment: As you watch the movie Lincoln you want to take notes to refer back to. You

will be writing a Reflection piece that will address one of the provided questions.

Format: MLA Heading / Times New Roman / 12 Point Type / Double Spaced / Title will be

the question that you have chosen to address / Not to exceed two (2) pages / Written in third

person / Do not use contractions

Questions for consideration:

1. Both Spielberg and Day-Lewis report that they were intimidated by the subject of the film by

the enormity of the task. Why do you think such professionals would be afraid?

2. In an interview, where both Spielberg and Day-Lewis were asked what most surprised them

about Lincoln, Spielberg reported Lincoln’s habit of talking through a problem with others

struck him. Day-Lewis, similarly, said that the man who opened his thoughts to others was very

“accessible”, very “welcoming”. Did you find a similar closeness to Lincoln? If so, where in the

film?

3. Spielberg states that he wanted to show “a man, not a monument”. What was the most

surprising, humanizing thing about Lincoln you saw in the film?

4. One unfriendly review states that “Fascinatingly, the film makes the passage of the Amendment

appear more a Stevens victory than a Lincoln one. These aren’t negative qualities and show that the

end of slavery in the United States was something more powerful than the will of one man.” To what

degree would you agree or disagree with this comment.

5. Consider the Lincoln marriage. Do you think that the term “love-hate relationship” applies

to the Lincoln marriage? The film shows Lincoln primarily focusing his life on the needs of

others – while Mary Todd focuses mainly on herself. What seems to cause this fundamental

difference in their personalities?

6. What do you think of Lincoln’s storytelling? How do we see it relieving tension or making

people think? How must humor have been absolutely essential for Lincoln to stand up to so

much pressure? How important is storytelling in sharing faith and connecting lives today?

7. There are many elements in this film that surprised the viewer – discuss one aspect from the

film Lincoln that you found surprising.

8. Discuss a scene that you felt contained great power of emotion. Explain the scene and why

it was reacted to.