12 Years A Slave Film Review

On Friday 18th i went to London Film Festival premier of Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave. 

Long story short- a random and foolish encounter has led Solomon Northup from living freely in New York to being kidnapped and sold into slavery in

Louisiana, getting handed over to various slave owners. There, Solomon

witnesses numerous acts of cruelty that no man should ever face.

As I stared at the movie screen with full dread, I was reeling back at

certain scenes I had just witnessed. There were good films and

television shows about slavery before, and they had various nuances at

how to tackle slavery. This film is part of said resurgence of the sub-

genre, hot on the heels of “Django Unchained” and “The Butler”. But

while the former relinquishes on Spaghetti Western entertainment more

than attempting to address the issue in a political light as the

latter, Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave” shuts those two up, and

perhaps the entire sub-genre, for good. I doubt any future

slavery-themed film will be as harrowing as this one was.

Steve McQueen is a fearless filmmaker, continuing his streak of

unfiltered brutality within human depths. He frames his actors’ faces

in extreme close-up, the eyes staring into despair, the nostrils fuming

in aggression. Naked flesh are shown not because of erotic content, but

rather because of desperation and futility. Long takes and wide shots

are not uncommon in his films, and here they showcase a plethora of

fantastic scenes and performances that work to discomfort the viewer as

much as possible. McQueen doesn’t just allow the audience to tackle

slavery, he guts the audience and leaves them for the consequences.

This is an extremely uncomfortable film to watch. Beautifully shot

locations are placeholders for unsettling sequences before and after,

contemplated by Hans Zimmer’s poignant and at times horrifying score.

This all works to create a nightmarish time and place where hell walks

on Earth.

Central to all of this is the performance of Chiwetel Ejiofor as

Solomon. Ejiofor showcases that he is a natural force to be reckoned

with in this film, after a decade of mostly supporting characters. He

spaces out in despair as the camera lingers onto him for solid minutes,

not a word spoken. Another sequence shows him mourning the death of a

fellow worker, in which the singing of the surrounding group compels

him and shakes him down to tears. These scenes follow earlier ones

where he is a classy, free man in the upper states, mingling happily

with the crowd and partaking in fanciful music sessions. It is a

tour-de-force performance.

A fine ensemble of established and up-and-coming actors surround

Ejiofor in his limelight - Paul Dano, Paul Giammati, Alfre Woodard,

Sarah Paulson, and Lupita Nyong’o in a heartbreaking performance as an abused slave, even Brad Pitt and Benedict Cumberbatch play somewhat nice guy roles, but none so ferociously as McQueen regular Michael Fassbender as the despicable, sadistic plantation owner Edwin Epps. So excellent and terrifying is Fassbender’s portrayal of such a merciless and barbaric person, that the mere sight of him will either cause audience members unfamiliar to him to flinch.

I was left speechless as the credits rolled. A lesser film would have

added tacked-on sentimentality/exaggeration and politically influenced

claptrap. Not this one. This is a movie to watch as a reminder of how

powerful the human spirit can endeavor, and how lucky all of us have

grown past that dreadful time in history. The full effect of it has not

been felt in movies before, until now.

After it ended everyone in the audience gave Steve McQueen a well deserved standing ovation as he came back onto the stage.
 I had to run off early so i didnt attend the full Q&A because I would have missed the last train home due to the film starting 45 minutes late! I was so upset by that because when he came out before he said how glad he was to be back in London because he had been subjected to the most infuriating stuff while away and he said he would tell us about it after the film.

I rushed off to the tube station and only upon finally sitting down was I able to process what I had just watched. I know it’s released in America this weekend so if you are near a theatre showing it then go immediately.

Managed to get a picture of Steve Mcqueen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Lupita Nyong'o (WHO GAVE ME A HUG  ON THE RED CARPET BTW!!!!!) during the Q&A

Seen the movie? Well, what did you think? Leave comments below!

EDIT: the film's official UK release date is 10th January 2014