Review // 12 Years A Slave

12 Years a Slave is not a film to like.  It’s not a film to pop on when friends come over.  It is a serious film about a serious period of history treated seriously.  It’s serious.  Which is no surprise as it comes from director Steve McQueen.  The British director has risen in prominence over the past five years with films like Hunger and Shame, gaining a reputation for his unflinching takes on disturbing subjects.  With his newest McQueen is true to form, entering the world of slavery in mid 19th century America.

12 Years a Slave follows Solomon Northup, a free man living with his family in New York who, in the first few minutes of the film, is abducted and sold in to slavery.  Over the next two hours (or 12 years in the film’s timeline) we follow Solomon as he bounces between plantation owners in the American South, some benevolent, some volatile, all acting within a system that punishes the individuality and pride that define Solomon’s character.  Over the course of his journey he is forced to harden himself to the realities of his situation, learning from the brutal treatment of those who share his plight.  It is a profound and horrifying story, made all the more shocking by the fact that it is based upon true events.  The fact that Solomon is free at the opening of the film better allows the everyday person to enter the story, to imagine the confusion, the hopelessness that would come from having your life, your entire identity stripped from you.

The subject of slavery has been under served by Hollywood.  Because of this lack of representation, the images in the film are lent a certain horrible novelty. It is not an exploitation film in which the freed slave will have his revenge, but a realistic portrait of an individual caught in a dreadful system of oppression.  At one point in the film, after angering a particularly nasty and petty boss played by Paul Dano, Solomon is hung from his neck with his feet barely touching the ground.  He is left on screen choking, in a single take, for what seems like 10 minutes, all while other slaves go about their business behind him.  At one point a woman approaches and offers him a sip of water before scurrying away.  This scene epitomizes the concern of the film, to draw our undivided attention to one of history’s greatest cruelties, but to fill it with grace and compassion. And, aesthetically speaking, it’s a pleasure to watch.  The cinematography is gorgeous.  The score is powerful and enchanting.  But above all else, the acting is superb.  Chiwetel Ejiofor gives a career defining performance as Northup.  Michael Fassbender is at his very best as the malicious, irreparably damaged plantation owner Edwin Epps.  Brad Pitt, who also produced the film, has a pleasing turn as a Canadian abolitionist.  And newcomer Lupita Nyong’o makes her big screen debut as Patsy, a performance that very well may see her on the Oscar stage this March.

The film is certain to receive heaps of Oscar buzz, and for good reason.  However this is not a film to see because it’s getting buzz.  This is a film to see because it represents the noblest use of the medium.   At the end of the screening, as the audience filed to the doors, not a word was spoken.  That’s just about the most ringing endorsement possible.

Review by Evan Arppe.