Review of 12 Years a Slave (2013) by Xtobymc — 17 Jan 2014

This is easily one of the greatest films I've ever seen, and in my eyes competes for my personal number 1, which is The Shawshank Redemption. 12 Years A Slave follows the incredible story of Solomon Northup as he is torn away from his free life and family, and forced into slavery. The entire film is a cinematic masterpiece, and will leave you in silence upon finishing it, simply due to the realism and shock of it all. Steve McQueen has taken this true story and provided it with complete justice in a movie form, and he had no intentions of making light scenes. Each and every scene of this movie is full of emotion and the actors/actresses portray their feelings outstandingly well, I'd be very surprised if Chiwetel Ejiofor didn't win an award for playing the role of Solomon Northup. Unlike typical movies which are full of soundtracks and constantly changing scenes flashing before your eyes, this movie sets a very silent and extended form of scenery. There are moments in the film where all you are seeing is Solomon's face with nothing but silence, and it causes you to really read and understand the emotion in his face. The brutal scenes in which the slave's 'masters' are punishing them are also extremely powerful, and you as the audience are forced to witness prolonged scenes of horrific torture, the reality of it really does hit you hard. What I like about this film is the way it focuses so closely upon a handful of characters. The scope of the scenes never goes beyond Solomon, or the cotton farm in which the majority of the film is set in. By following the characters so closely, and portraying their emotions throughout, you develop an extremely sympathetic bond with the Solomon and his co-slaves, which very few movies I've seen can do. If you are reading this and haven't seen 12 Years a Slave, you must see it. The film does take a bit of stomach to watch, and you should also be prepared for the shock and reality of it, but in my eyes it is a must see. Personally, I think this is the sort of film which will go down in history as one of the greatest of all time, and the ending (which I wont spoil) is particularly moving.

10/10 for me, and I'm very picky about movies.