Rent 12 Years a Slave (2013)

'Slavery is a tragedy that should befall none.' - 12 Years a Slave review by Milstead On Movies

12 Years A Slave is a remarkably harrowing and uncomfortable watch based on the true story of Solomon Northup, a free black man living in pre-Civil War New York, abducted from his wife and family and sold into the diabolical slave trade where he spent each day doing all he could to survive.

Director Steve McQueen (no, not that one) isn't afraid to show all the horrific ordeals of forced slavery, mothers separated from their children, 'inferior' workers flogged, whipped and occasionally hung.

Every single performance in this film is fantastic, Chiwetel Ejiofor appears in virtually every scene, mostly as a passive character who witnesses and experiences all the atrocities, but his performance is nevertheless excellent, especially in the closing stages. Lupita Nyony'o thoroughly deserved her Supporting Actress Oscar as Patsey, whom Solomon befriends on a cotton plantation owned by the seething, dictatorial, cynically evil Epps (Michael Fassbender).

Not all the white people are the bad guy though, and some of them even help Solomon to win back his freedom, but these characters are few and far between and even those who do have redeeming qualities simply don't lessen the impact of Solomon's ordeal.

It's no surprise at all that this film was named Best Picture of 2013. An accolade most truly deserved.

A middling film that makes you want to read the book - 12 Years a Slave review by PV

This film was massively hyped, yes; many reviewers say how painful it was to sit through (as though they'd never heard of bad things happened to people before!). There is lots of racial politics going on here too, and a definite craving for victimhood in the reparation debate now. So I shall just stick to whether this is a good film or not.

Well, yes, it is a good film up to a point. Buy BOY does it labour the point! The doomy music and pained expressions may appeal to a US market, but I found it overdone.

It wants you to wince and cry - and not doubt some will - but I could just never emotionally connect with these characters, which surprised me. I remember watching Roots and really connecting then with Kunta Kinte. I shall have to rewatch that on DVD to see if it still does, or if maybe I have become too cynical - but I just didn't connect with the characters and I thought there was plenty of overacting too (esp in the female queen cotton picker character; the lead man character is excellent and he SHOULD have won the Oscar). I suspect I'd find the book more interesting.

I also didn't like the way the slaves all seemed so well-dressed and healthy. Silly.

Silly too that slavery is not really put in context; this is the 1840s and most whites were little more than slaves anyway, arguably - I think most who watch this movie will assume all whites were rich and privileged from this movie, Nonsense.

Plenty of good people supported slavery - black and white, Arab Muslim and Christian - all over the world. That point was missed by creating pantomime white villains and angelic blacks. No nuance here.

So 3.5 points, This is not a masterpiece at all, but a well-filmed biopic. One which maybe had to be made - but mainly aimed at a US market, which is why it wallows in its pity party polemic. Good, but not that good.

SLOW GOING - 12 Years a Slave review by KA

THIS WAS REALLY SLOW GOING IN SOME PLACES WHY HAVE THEY GOT AWARDS FOR IT I JUST DONT KNOW ROOTS WAS BETTER AND THAT WAS EONS AGO

Oscar fodder - 12 Years a Slave review by Alphaville

Of course it’s an important and worthy film. It couldn’t BE more worthy (in Chandler’s voice). It ticks all the politically correct boxes required to vacuum up Oscar nominations. Add plinky-plonk piano and swelling strings where appropriate and it’s a shoe-in. Judged purely as a cinematic experience, however, it’s more of an obligation than a pleasure to sit through.

It has one thing to say. The clue is in the title. It’s an in important thing to say but it’s rammed home again and again with no discernible increase in impact. The story is entirely predictable and overly precise direction robs even tragic scenes of their emotional impact. A less heavy-handed approach might have enabled the story to breathe. Instead we have an historical document. A one-note, episodic, polemical treatise on the awfulness of slavery.

It sounds churlish to say so but this makes it a less than riveting watch. Any film you can fast forward and dip back into without missing much lacks something. Everyone acts their socks off and the camera loves to watch them do it. There’s only one major exception: an intense whipping scene near the end, filmed imaginatively in a single take by a roving camera. It shows what the film could have been.

An important subject not really matching the hype - 12 Years a Slave review by CP Customer

Am I unique in saying that this film was a little bit boring? The incredible hype building this film up to be a phenomenal portrayal of one of the worst traits of inhumanity just did not cut the mustard with me. Although visually seductive, due in no small measure to the British Cinematographer, the story of the hell that was (and still is) slavery was not properly addressed in this film. I suppose that this is what comes with having to pander to Holywood fora film of this nature to be created.

Very dissapointing indeed!

An extremely upsetting & graphic look at the evil of slavery, with an incredible Ejiofor & Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave review by TB

After Shame, Steve McQueen then chose as his next project a deeply personal film, looking at the horror of slavery, but from the perspective of a free black man, Solomon Northup, who is kidnapped & sold to the highest bidder, refuses to be cowed and is determined to escape.

It is an extremely difficult watch, rightly so, starting within the first few minutes where, after being kidnapped & speaking to the criminals responsible, he is repeatedly & graphically beaten. Transferred between highly successful farms where, along with hundreds of other slaves, they are treated as worthless even whilst making the farm owners untold riches, Northup determines to escape. He also meets & bonds strongly with Patsy, a young & enigmatic woman whose spirit is slowly being destroyed by the horror she is trapped in. This includes a scene of unbearable brutality towards her which is all but unwatchable.

I don't want to say too much more about this film due to not wanting to reduce the impact of it. But it is a brilliant, shocking and deeply upsetting film, which is vital in portraying the horror & crimes committed against the black population in America & the millions shipped in from all around the world in order to satisfy the insatiable demand.

The performances, cinematography, soundtrack and direction are all fantastic. And despite the horror that this film puts you through, you are gripped throughout. A vital and extremely moving look at one man's incredible & horrific story.

Harrowing - 12 Years a Slave review by DT

Painful and harrowing to watch, brilliant acting and filmwork but too uncomfortable to be enjoyable, one that you probably need to see. Leaves me wanting revenge for those poor poor souls that had to live through this shameful period for mankind in time! Shocking that one human being can be so heartless to anything least of all another human being.