12 Years a Slave (A or 3.5/4 stars)
'12 Years a Slave' (directed by Steve McQueen of Hunger, Shame) is a powerful & involving adaptation of Solomon Northup's autobiographical account of his yrs. spent as a slave on Louisiana plantations from 1841-1853. In depicting the conditions with which slaves lived & worked, '12 Years a Slave' is unflinching in its scenes of unrelenting cruelties & heartbreaking brutality. That will make it difficult for some audiences to handle. However, if they shirk viewing this film, they'll have missed THE definitive movie concerning slavery in 19th century America. It's an astounding achievement.
Action begins early in the film when Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) a free black man from NY, was kidnapped & sold into slavery. When Solomon claims to be a free man (also married with 2 kids), he is beaten to a pulp by a racist. Solomon is then taken to a ship where he & other kidnapped blacks are transported to Louisiana. One of the other captives tells him that the key to "survival" is to stay quiet, never say your real name, & hide your ability to read/write. Solomon exclaims, "I don't want to survive, I want to live!!". But survive is what he must do as he faces a hellish reality of hatred & physical brutality. In New Orleans, a slave trader (Paul Giamatti) humiliates the naked slaves up for sale, & informs Solomon his name will now be 'Pratt'.
Pratt & Eliza (Adepero Oduye), a young mother who is separated from her 2 kids, are purchased by the kindly William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch). While living at Ford's, Pratt's favored status draws anger from the plantation's field boss (slimy Paul Dano). He taunts Pratt. Pratt fights back! Though, this results in him being hung from a tree & forced to stand on his tippy toes in mud with a rope around his neck until Ford gets wind of this & cuts him down. This sequence is shocking, because we watch Pratt struggle to stand on those toes as other slaves on the plantation go about their business & ignore him (likely due to their powerlessness).
Ford is then forced to sell Pratt to neighbor plantation owner "Master" Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), a mercenary businessman who whips slaves who don't meet the quota of the day picking his cotton. Much to the anger of his jealous, spiteful wife (Sarah Paulson), Epps has regular sex with slave girl Patsey (hypnotic newcomer, Lupita Nyong'o) who is the fastest cotton picker on his land. Still dreaming of freedom & a reunion with his family, Pratt's hopes are lifted when a vagabond Canadian abolitionist (Brad Pitt) listens to his tale of woe (12 years a slave) & promises to help him.
The film shows the base cruelty of which human beings are capable. Not every white man in the movie is vile (Benedict Cumberbatch's Ford & Brad Pitt's abolitionist show compassion), but even they are hesitant/stuck by the socio-cultural mores of the time. Michael Fassbender's Epps, however, views blacks as animals; thereby making his treatment of them justifiable. Epps - like many people in the South - even uses Biblical verses to validate his actions.
Chiwetel Ejiofor is astonishing as Solomon/Pratt. Whether it's watching him in scenes that depict Solomon's freedom before the abduction, his despair during early captivity, or his hell bent determination while suffering oppression ... we're fully invested. The pain in his eyes, captured in copious close-ups by director McQueen, display a variety of emotions with a quiet intensity that cuts to the bone. His deep yearning to return home is fully-expressed. And his final scene will likely bring tears to your eyes. As Epps, Michael Fassbender offers a fascinating portrayal of cruelty; cruelty that is unhinged by alcohol, religious fervor, & mental instabilities. The unpredictability with which he acts is terrifying; as evidenced in a horrific scene when he commands 'Pratt' to whip another slave. Such dynamic performances.
Along with aforementioned Ejiofor, Fassbender, Pitt, Paulson, Giamatti, Cumberbatch, Dano, Oduye, & Nyong'o ... there are small, but no less important roles acted by the likes of Alfre Woodard, Garret Dillahunt, Quvenzhane Wallis, & Dwight Henry. The acting is fantastic, but so, too, is the look/sound of the film. Sean Bobbit's camera choices are as fascinating as Steve McQueen's directorial choices. Bobbit/McQueen captures the gentle, melancholic beauty of the South, which serves as a direct contrast to all the savagery & horrors going on. McQueen's set/costume designers superbly recreate Civil War-era life. The sound design is crisp (with uneasy sounds of locusts in the trees or the lashing of a whip). And Hans Zimmer's musical score aids the narrative.
'12YAS' is upsetting & unsettling as only a slave tale can be. We are reminded of just how ugly human nature can be; how racism is so prevalent in our psyches; and how religion was used as twisted justification for the horrors inflicted on blacks. That's infuriating. But '12YAS' also contains elements of courage, determination, & cathartic redemption. And while the film strolls along in a somewhat clinical, episodic fashion ... it unrolls with a cumulative emotional heft that sneaks up on you in the end. Due to such heartless cruelty, '12 Years a Slave' is, at times, difficult to watch. But it also provides a thoroughly worthwhile cinematic experience that you're sure to never forget. For as ugly as so many elements are, as Steve McQueen puts it ... his movie is ultimately about "love".
Action begins early in the film when Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) a free black man from NY, was kidnapped & sold into slavery. When Solomon claims to be a free man (also married with 2 kids), he is beaten to a pulp by a racist. Solomon is then taken to a ship where he & other kidnapped blacks are transported to Louisiana. One of the other captives tells him that the key to "survival" is to stay quiet, never say your real name, & hide your ability to read/write. Solomon exclaims, "I don't want to survive, I want to live!!". But survive is what he must do as he faces a hellish reality of hatred & physical brutality. In New Orleans, a slave trader (Paul Giamatti) humiliates the naked slaves up for sale, & informs Solomon his name will now be 'Pratt'.
Pratt & Eliza (Adepero Oduye), a young mother who is separated from her 2 kids, are purchased by the kindly William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch). While living at Ford's, Pratt's favored status draws anger from the plantation's field boss (slimy Paul Dano). He taunts Pratt. Pratt fights back! Though, this results in him being hung from a tree & forced to stand on his tippy toes in mud with a rope around his neck until Ford gets wind of this & cuts him down. This sequence is shocking, because we watch Pratt struggle to stand on those toes as other slaves on the plantation go about their business & ignore him (likely due to their powerlessness).
Ford is then forced to sell Pratt to neighbor plantation owner "Master" Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), a mercenary businessman who whips slaves who don't meet the quota of the day picking his cotton. Much to the anger of his jealous, spiteful wife (Sarah Paulson), Epps has regular sex with slave girl Patsey (hypnotic newcomer, Lupita Nyong'o) who is the fastest cotton picker on his land. Still dreaming of freedom & a reunion with his family, Pratt's hopes are lifted when a vagabond Canadian abolitionist (Brad Pitt) listens to his tale of woe (12 years a slave) & promises to help him.
The film shows the base cruelty of which human beings are capable. Not every white man in the movie is vile (Benedict Cumberbatch's Ford & Brad Pitt's abolitionist show compassion), but even they are hesitant/stuck by the socio-cultural mores of the time. Michael Fassbender's Epps, however, views blacks as animals; thereby making his treatment of them justifiable. Epps - like many people in the South - even uses Biblical verses to validate his actions.
Chiwetel Ejiofor is astonishing as Solomon/Pratt. Whether it's watching him in scenes that depict Solomon's freedom before the abduction, his despair during early captivity, or his hell bent determination while suffering oppression ... we're fully invested. The pain in his eyes, captured in copious close-ups by director McQueen, display a variety of emotions with a quiet intensity that cuts to the bone. His deep yearning to return home is fully-expressed. And his final scene will likely bring tears to your eyes. As Epps, Michael Fassbender offers a fascinating portrayal of cruelty; cruelty that is unhinged by alcohol, religious fervor, & mental instabilities. The unpredictability with which he acts is terrifying; as evidenced in a horrific scene when he commands 'Pratt' to whip another slave. Such dynamic performances.
Along with aforementioned Ejiofor, Fassbender, Pitt, Paulson, Giamatti, Cumberbatch, Dano, Oduye, & Nyong'o ... there are small, but no less important roles acted by the likes of Alfre Woodard, Garret Dillahunt, Quvenzhane Wallis, & Dwight Henry. The acting is fantastic, but so, too, is the look/sound of the film. Sean Bobbit's camera choices are as fascinating as Steve McQueen's directorial choices. Bobbit/McQueen captures the gentle, melancholic beauty of the South, which serves as a direct contrast to all the savagery & horrors going on. McQueen's set/costume designers superbly recreate Civil War-era life. The sound design is crisp (with uneasy sounds of locusts in the trees or the lashing of a whip). And Hans Zimmer's musical score aids the narrative.
'12YAS' is upsetting & unsettling as only a slave tale can be. We are reminded of just how ugly human nature can be; how racism is so prevalent in our psyches; and how religion was used as twisted justification for the horrors inflicted on blacks. That's infuriating. But '12YAS' also contains elements of courage, determination, & cathartic redemption. And while the film strolls along in a somewhat clinical, episodic fashion ... it unrolls with a cumulative emotional heft that sneaks up on you in the end. Due to such heartless cruelty, '12 Years a Slave' is, at times, difficult to watch. But it also provides a thoroughly worthwhile cinematic experience that you're sure to never forget. For as ugly as so many elements are, as Steve McQueen puts it ... his movie is ultimately about "love".