12 Years a Slave: Movie Review
Writer John Ridley and director Steve McQueen’s adaptation of Solomon Northup’s true story “12 Years a Slave” is absolutely brilliant. The film is so fantastic that it will allow me to forgive Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt for also co-starring in the horrendous “The Counselor” one week earlier. The writing, directing, and acting is all top notch. This will easily be a top contender at the Academy Awards.
Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a free black man from New York during the pre-Civil War era. While traveling to Washington as a violinist, Solomon is kidnapped and sold into slavery. Separated from his wife and children, Solomon struggles with his new his hopeless situation while he tries to retain his dignity and survive his harsh new life.
Solomon is renamed Platt Hamilton by the slave dealer (Paul Giamatti) and is then sold to William Prince Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch) to work on his plantation. When Solomon defends himself from a beating by the slave overseer, Tibeats (Paul Dano) he is hung from a tree and left there to slowly choke for hours. Because he could touch the ground with his toes, he was able to stay alive. Ford however cuts him down and sells him off to Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender) because he does not feel he can keep Solomon safe on his own land. Ford was a slave owner who cared about the wellbeing of his slaves, where Epps only saw them as tools for picking cotton. If the tools did not work fast enough, he would have them whipped as punishment. Life for Solomon got much harder with his new master.
“12 Years a Slave” features an amazing cast. Chiwetel Ejiofor gives the performance of career and hopefully after this we will see much more of him. Even though the actor has been around for quite a few years, he hasn’t yet been able to show audiences that he can carry a film…and he carries this one all the way home. Adepero Oduye gives a heartbreaking performance as a slave who is separated from her children as they are each sold off, one by one. She spends each day crying, making her owners uncomfortable. Another brilliant performance comes from Lupita Nyong’o who plays Patsey, a slave that lives a tortured life as an object that comes between Edwin Epps and his wife (Sarah Paulson). There is not a weak link in this ensemble.
’12 Years a Slave” is beautiful, heartbreaking, and a film that is a must see by all. This is a film that should be part of our country’s education system, but due to many of the sexual scenes, it most likely never will. Make sure to go see “12 Years a Slave”.
By: Marc Ferman