This morning, the Oscar nominations were announced. As has been the case throughout the awards season so far, Steven Spielberg's movie Lincoln has received the most nominations and hype among this year's films. As ABC News has it, "Lincoln Leads the Way...."
I have not yet seen all of the nominated movies, so I cannot hazard a completely informed prediction. But the fact that the movie has been so well received -- if you had told me, before it opened, that the film would earn more that $100 million in less than a month, I would not have laughed at you -- suggests that it has surpassed expectations by a lot. This is more influential during awards season, especially in competitive years, and bodes well for some very good nights ahead for the film.
There is also the possibility, explored in some of the media coverage, of an unexpected timeliness to Lincoln. While every generation seems to appropriate Lincoln into their own time, the story of a president dealing with a big issue with a contentious Congress seems a morality lesson given modern frustrations with the federal government. This has been noticed even beyond our shores, as in an article this week in the British newspaper, The Telegraph, which considers "The Lure of Lincoln."
