Review of 12 Years a Slave (2013) by Jim R — 15 Sep 2015

There is a brilliant examination into the treacheries of slavery that uses it's subjects troubles to its advantage in a masterful way. The story follows Solomon Northrop while in captivity on a plantation in New Orleans. Solomon's quest to survive contains a sobering element to it. Chiwetel Ejiofor is a masterclass in this film. He plays everything the way he has to. The first scene that dragged my attention fully into the film was when Solomon is letting all his rage flow out into Elisa.

The mannerisms in which he moves and the complete head on dive Chiwetel Ejiofor takes into his role is well deserving of praise. A few other people well deserving of praise are Hans Zimmer and Sean Bobbit. Zimmer normally tries to make you go deaf. This time he manages to be the most subdued I've heard in a long time all the while managing to still make his presence known and adds just the right amount of emotion to each scene. Sean Bobbitt's photography is also amazing. During a scene involving Solomon, rope, and an angry white man we are immersed in this shot that lingers on Solomon hanging to where only his toes can touch the ground. He has some other scenes that are really noteworthy and stick out, like a scene where Solomon is naked and being asked to help wash a kid. So good. Of course good photographers and composers wouldn't be able to reach such a high level without a competent director calling the shots, and it must be said that Steve McQueen is going to be a legendary film maker. He pulls such great performances out of people I haven't ever seen this good before, hell haven't ever seen.

He shows the harshness of slavery in a way where we can recognize the harsh reality of it but not heavy handed like some film makers might do with that material. The supportiHng cast performed very well, especially Lupita N'yongo. With the emotional turmoil that her character was going to deal with she needed to hit it out of the park and she did. Fassbender was also really good. He totally embodies his character and gets into his role well, especially during the dialogue he has with Brad Pitt's character near the end when discussing the merit's of slavery. All and all It is a masterclass of not just historical storytelling via filmmaking, but of film making as an art form. Go see it.