"Lincoln" opens in limited release Nov. 9 and nationwide Nov. 16. (Screen capture of "Lincoln" from YouTube channel MovieClipsTRAILERS)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD - Daniel Day-Lewis is Abraham Lincoln.

The motion picture "Lincoln" opens in limited release Friday and nationally Nov. 16, and will reflect research done at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield.

James Cornelius, curator of the Lincoln Collection there, said he spent about a half day with Day-Lewis to discuss Lincoln’s clothing and how he wore it, as well as how Lincoln walked and spoke.

You won’t see any Springfield scenes in the film, but what you hear could be familiar. Cornelius said the organization provided much assistance in the area of sound effects.

“Both actual sounds from the collection – items that we own – as well as suggestions for the kinds of sounds that were in the Lincolns’ ears when they lived in Washington.”

Cornelius said the sounds include a family dinner bell and a clock from the Lincoln-Herndon Law Office in Springfield.

He adds the movie is a story based on facts; not a documentary.

In the midst of the buzz surrounding the film, Lincoln author and Illinois Wesleyan University professor Robert C. Bray is waiting to determine which Lincoln audiences will see.

The author of an acclaimed book and two plays on Lincoln, Bray wonders if the film will show the Abraham Lincoln forever deified in marble contemplation in the Lincoln Memorial? Or will the film center on Lincoln the grieving father, the shrewd politician, or even a racist?

Bray will view the film this weekend, then he'll join WJBC's Beth Whisman on-air at 2:10 p.m. Monday to discuss the film.