Film: Day-Lewis towers over historic epic

Reviewed: Lincoln, directed by Steven Spielberg

**Nationwide, cert 12A**

**Rating:** 4/5

The two American films opening this weekend are sombre, tightly-focused epics based on real-life events.

Both are nominated for Academy Awards at next month's ceremony and both are the work of Oscar-winning directors. Steven Spielberg's **Lincoln**, ostensibly about Lincoln's battle to pass the 13th Amendment to the Constitution outlawing slavery, is framed by the Civil War and a divided congress.

Kathryn Bigelow's ...