Lincoln Film Review Paraphrase Practice

Alexander Grelier
10/18/18

Lincoln Film Review Paraphrase Practice

"As Lincoln, Daniel Day-Lewis is excellent: he has the president's famous height, and his reedy, hushed manner of speaking. Apparently, Lincoln used to drive his colleagues mad with his odd sense of humour and his long stories, just as we see in the film. We also get a much more rounded picture than usual of Lincoln's wife, Mary Todd. She's notorious for being on the far side of sane – she's reputed to have thrown crockery at Lincoln – and for spending pots of money. Sally Field shows her as a much more complex person, who had suffered real loss in the death of their son Willie."

An American history professor on Lincoln: The Guardian

My paraphrase of this selected passage:

Laura Bennett, a history professor posted on The Guardian, says that the actor Daniel Day-Lewis in the movie "Lincoln" depicts the president very accurately. She says that Day-Lewis possesses many of president Lincoln's traits and features, such as his sizable stature and soft tone of voice. According to Bennett, Abraham Lincoln was commonly noted as a man who would often exasperate peers of his with his drawn-out tales and overall quirky personality. She also adds that the movie gives a thorough portrayal of what Mary Todd (President Lincoln's wife) was like according to historians. Bennett mentions that Mary Todd is known for being far from fair-minded, regularly spending great quantities of money, yet the movie illustrates her in a way that shows her intricate character and adversities such as the passing of her son.