Director-Steve McQueen
Length-134 min.
Rated-R
It's been quite some since I've agreed with the Academy's choice for Best Picture. But there is no doubt in my mind that this year's selection was the perfect choice. 12 Years A Slave follows the inspiring true story of the once free man Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who was kidnapped, enslaved, and forced into years of suffering for a life he tried to escape.
This film begins in Saratoga, New York where Solomon lives with his wife and three children. They seem to carry on a life full of joy and prosperity. Until one day Solomon is approached by two white men from the South who proposition him to join their "merry band" in Washington D.C. for a circus-like show in which he could bring home trunks full of money. Solomon accepts the men's offer and accompanies them to a celebratory dinner to seal the deal. However, Solomon becomes very sick (because the men poisoned his wine) and is seen being carried up to his bedroom. The next thing you know, he wakes up in a very dark cell with chains around his hands and feet. Two new men enter the cell and tell him he is not a free man, but a runaway slave. The men then beat Solomon savagely with a paddle and whip. Unfortunately this is just the beginning of the 12 year battle Solomon is forced to endure.
As the rest of the film plays out we are introduced to slave owners, both cruel and kind. But in the end they all turn out to be morally corrupt Southern racists who treat each and every slave as their own "property." The clear cut enemy in the film is Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), who's cruelty towards his slaves is well known throughout the land. Solomon must overcome his tyranny on multiple occasions and is brought to the verge of abandoning all sense of hope.
The brutality of this film was hard to take at times, but I feel as though director Steve McQueen felt it was needed to depict the story in the manner in which the audience could truly feel the pain that Solomon felt. McQueen has become somewhat well known for the explicit nature of his films like Shame, depicting a sex-crazed man who can't seem to overcome his obsession. It garnered an NC-17 rating for being so sexually explicit.
But it seemed as though all the pieces of this intricate, and yet deeply disturbing puzzle are told with such realism and beauty that this film is a must-see for anyone who can handle it. The story of this film is something that needs to be shared with the world. There have been tales of slavery before, but never shown quite like this.
Go see this year's Best Picture, you won't regret that you did.
