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
