12 Years a Slave

In 1840s New York, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a skilled free black carpenter and violinist, is hired by a pair of traveling entertainers to perform on tour in Washington D.C. Upon arrival, however, Solomon is drugged and sold into slavery. Working at first for the relatively benign William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), he defends himself against a jealous overseer (Paul Dano) and is sold to Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), an alcoholic sadist who believes slavery is biblically sanctioned. To make matters worse, Epps has become obsessed with slave Patsey (Lupito Nyongo), which draws the abusive ire of his wife (Sarah Paulson). Though bearing witness to such savagery has taken its toll on Solomon, he refuses to give up hope that he will regain his freedom. A chance meeting with an abolitionist Canadian laborer (Brad Pitt) could prove the opportunity he is looking for.

Slavery, like the Holocaust, is a difficult subject to commit to film, not merely because of its inherent monstrousness, but because showing that monstrousness time and time again risks rendering it passé. Thus, the twin challenges faced by would-be filmmakers are giving the subject its due while finding new ways to engage an audience. Django Unchained dispensed with any pretense of historicity and dared to be funny (as well as incredibly violent) while still managing to get at slavery’s poisonous heart. 12 Years a Slave takes as different (somber, frank, and graceful) an approach as is possible yet is no less impactful.

Directed by Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave is stylistically arresting and full of verisimilitude. Shot on several former plantations, it features convincing costuming and other period detail. The use of bright, sunny hues forms a sharp contrast with the onscreen cruelty. Hans Zimmer’s score may evoke his previous work, but it is no less elegant. And give or take a few embellishments, John Ridley’s screenplay hews closely to Northup’s carefully verified memoir of the same name.

The acting here is top-notch. Ejiofor gives an Oscar-worthy performance as the resolute, dignified Solomon, a man who refuses to abandon hope despite the direness of the circumstances. He is matched by newcomer Nyongo, who imbues the doomed Patsey with toughness and grace. Channeling Amon Goeth, Fassbender is chilling as the psychopathic, fanatical, whip-happy Epps while Paulson plays his jealous wife as cold and cruel in her own right. Only minor hiccups (Pitt’s decidedly un-Canadian accent, the perfection of Nyongo’s teeth) throw the movie off-kilter at times, but it quickly rebounds.

Brutal and uncompromising, 12 Years a Slave is not an easy movie to watch. However, its violence, wretched characters, and harrowing circumstances are all reminders that human dignity should never be taken for granted.

8.75/10