12 Years a Slave has been receiving largely rave reviews since it debuted on the festival circuit last year. It is now front runner to land the best picture Oscar in a couple of months, with only American Hustle and Gravity seeming likely to provide strong competition.
It is closely based on a true story of Solomon Northup, a free black man, who, whilst on a trip to Washington is kidnapped and sold into slavery. It provides an unflinching look at America’s treatment of their black citizens in the 1840s and 1850s. Chiwetel Ejiofor, plays Solomon who is initially defiant when captured but soon learns that the only way to survive is through compliance.
Its depiction of this particular part of American history is fascinating. There is an interesting scene just after Solomon is taken, when he is boarding a boat headed for his first sale.
Whilst he, and his fellow slaves, are herded into a boat whilst in chains, just yards away free black men go about their business seemingly oblivious to what is going on. Also, his first owner, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, is not the stereotypical Southern plantation owner.
He shows his slaves kindness and encourages them to use their initiative. However, he still casually uses the ‘N’ word and when Solomon is in danger, he feels no shame in passing him over to another slave owner to settle a debt.
Solomon’s new owner, the ruthless and terrifying Edwin Epps, played by Michael Fassbender is much more of the sort of person you would expect to see in a slavery film. However, a tremendous performance by Fassbender makes the character much more interesting and conflicted than he could have been. His mistreatment of his slaves is often graphically shown and it becomes very hard to watch at times. You are bound to be moved by Solomon’s plight as he begins to lose all hope of ever getting back to his old life.
Despite Fassbender’s excellent performance, it is Ejiofor who is rightly getting the most plaudits. His depiction of a proud man becoming broken by years of slavery is very convincing. He is particularly brilliant in one scene where he is forced to punish a fellow slave in order to save his and others lives. Also, Sarah Paulsen as Epps’ demented wife makes her presence felt and newcomer Lupita Nyong’o looks set to capture many awards for her performance as a fellow slave on Epps’ plantation.
What works less well is Hans Zimmer’s score. It not only too closely resembles his other work but the style feels completely unsuited to the subject matter and the period setting.
However, that is a small quibble for a consistently gripping and harrowing film. It is certainly Steve McQueen’s most impressive directorial effort to date and it features one scene that will certainly appear on my best of the year list.
After an attempted and botched hanging of Solomon, he is left to dangle from the rope for an extended period of time, desperately stretching to keep his feet on the ground. As he does that, life goes on around him, showing that how normal occurrence his mistreatment is. That scene goes on much longer than most directors would allow, and will haunt you long after the film is over.
Rating: 9 out of 10