REVIEW: 12 YEARS A SLAVE
One of the most uncomfortable viewing experiences I've sat through is last year's gripping thriller "Compliance." Without spoiling the film, I found myself yelling at my computer screen a number of times in protest to the character's actions. "12 Years a Slave" makes "Compliance" seem like a trip to Disney World. It's going to take me a long time to recuperate after seeing this unflinchingly brutal work of art, and likely years before I even consider giving myself the thought of a second viewing.
It opens with the soon to be nationally revered Chiwetel Ejiofor and a handful of other slaves in a cane field, being instructed by an unnamed master. Why not include one of the many whipping scenes as a shocking opener to this picture? Director Steve McQueen wants to put you in the shoes (or lack thereof) of a slave, being instructed to do menial work in the blazing southern heat with the impending crack of a whip alongside your back in the forefront of your mind.
This and the unspeakable horrors Ejiofor's Solomon Northup, as you're probably aware of this real-life premise of Northup, a freeman who was swollen with alcohol, passed out and woke up shackled to more than a decade of horrific abuse and hardship. The even worse part is, on the plantation the movie primarily takes place on, under the control of slave "breaker" Epps (Michael Fassbender) and, if this is possible, is even crueler and colder, jealous wife (Sarah Paulson, turning in another solid role after "Mud"), there is a slave girl named Patsey who is an even harsher predicament. Raped and desired after by Epps and sequentially beaten by Epps' wife, it truly seems like there is no ounce of hope for Patsey, and by association her fellow slaves.
This revelation of film about how far the human spirit can be stretched without being crushed by nearly everything around it is cemented into greatness by Mr. Ejiofor's stunning performance as a man desperate not to lose his dignity. With his large, expressive eyes and an eloquent tongue that far surpasses any of his slave brethren, Ejiofor plays Solomon as a man who realizes his situation, adapts to it, but never breaks. Newcomer Lupita Nyong'o comes in a very close second, performance-wise as Patsey, Northup's solely depicted real friendship in the plantation. Along with this is a remarkable supporting cast with the likes of Paul Giamati (he's nearly as despicable as Epps), Brad Pitt as the voice of reason and a tiny, pivotal role, Benedict Cumberbatch as an (oxymoronic) kind slave master, and Paul Dano as Cumberbatch's neighbor who from the start you realize is blood thirsty.
Slavery is not glossed over in high school lessons like one might think, but I still didn't realize how enslaving people was so possible until "12 Years" made me realize how it was done. The ratio on Northup's plantation was probably 100:2 in the slave's favor. Why didn't they revolt? People like Epps, Dano's Tibeats and Giamati's Freeman succeeded in showing me: they had to convince the people that they were property. They had to break their spirits and minds and show them they were inferior by simply the definition of skin color, and by the time the lashings came, they had already been defeated mentally.
So, as I've stated, this movie is no typical Oscar bait, but, like this year's "Fruitvale Station," a testament to the racism that will likely always stain America. That said, this movie might be going home with a truckload of Oscars, for Ms. Nyong'o, maybe Fassbender, who is so convincingly vicious you wonder how things were on the days of shooting those scenes, and naturally, Mr. Ejiofor, whose face was a canvas of emotions and desperation. I'm happy and relieved to report that the only struggle he will be going through in the future is having to listen to celebrity presenters butcher his name come awards season.
Rating: 4/4 stars
It opens with the soon to be nationally revered Chiwetel Ejiofor and a handful of other slaves in a cane field, being instructed by an unnamed master. Why not include one of the many whipping scenes as a shocking opener to this picture? Director Steve McQueen wants to put you in the shoes (or lack thereof) of a slave, being instructed to do menial work in the blazing southern heat with the impending crack of a whip alongside your back in the forefront of your mind.
This revelation of film about how far the human spirit can be stretched without being crushed by nearly everything around it is cemented into greatness by Mr. Ejiofor's stunning performance as a man desperate not to lose his dignity. With his large, expressive eyes and an eloquent tongue that far surpasses any of his slave brethren, Ejiofor plays Solomon as a man who realizes his situation, adapts to it, but never breaks. Newcomer Lupita Nyong'o comes in a very close second, performance-wise as Patsey, Northup's solely depicted real friendship in the plantation. Along with this is a remarkable supporting cast with the likes of Paul Giamati (he's nearly as despicable as Epps), Brad Pitt as the voice of reason and a tiny, pivotal role, Benedict Cumberbatch as an (oxymoronic) kind slave master, and Paul Dano as Cumberbatch's neighbor who from the start you realize is blood thirsty.
Slavery is not glossed over in high school lessons like one might think, but I still didn't realize how enslaving people was so possible until "12 Years" made me realize how it was done. The ratio on Northup's plantation was probably 100:2 in the slave's favor. Why didn't they revolt? People like Epps, Dano's Tibeats and Giamati's Freeman succeeded in showing me: they had to convince the people that they were property. They had to break their spirits and minds and show them they were inferior by simply the definition of skin color, and by the time the lashings came, they had already been defeated mentally.So, as I've stated, this movie is no typical Oscar bait, but, like this year's "Fruitvale Station," a testament to the racism that will likely always stain America. That said, this movie might be going home with a truckload of Oscars, for Ms. Nyong'o, maybe Fassbender, who is so convincingly vicious you wonder how things were on the days of shooting those scenes, and naturally, Mr. Ejiofor, whose face was a canvas of emotions and desperation. I'm happy and relieved to report that the only struggle he will be going through in the future is having to listen to celebrity presenters butcher his name come awards season.
Rating: 4/4 stars
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