15 Average Oscar Bait Films Elevated By Amazing Performances
14. Lincoln
One thing that everyone can agree on is that Daniel Day-Lewis was absolutely phenomenal as Abraham Lincoln in this big-budget Abraham Lincoln biopic. Day-Lewis doesn't so much play Lincoln as live him and not only is his performance dramatically rich and moving, but it's also a ridiculously convincing recreation of Lincoln to the point where it actually feels like we're watching documentary footage of the man.
Out of the Best Actor Oscar winners of the 2010s so far, Daniel Day Lewis' performance is arguably the best of the bunch and it would be very hard to argue that he didn't deserve the gong that night.
As for the rest of the film, Lincoln is actually rather well-made and it's obviously very well-researched, but it isn't a very enjoyable viewing due to the exceptionally slow pace and somewhat robotic feel. It's Day-Lewis that gives the film what heart it has and ensures that the film still works; without such a strong central performance, Lincoln would probably have been a failed Oscar-Bait movie.