Steve McQueen tries a mainstream film... and it's a giant success!

Rating: 9/10 (10 June 2014)

After watch his two previous works (Hunger and Shame) I was interested to see what he is able to do with a movie that can appeal to a lot of people. I was presently surprised to see that he can still bring his A game when entertaining mass audiences. It's great to see this movie winning best picture, because this one actually deserves it this time. Chiwetel Ejiofor does a great job and really makes the audience feel that they understand his plight. Every actor does their part, including Michael Fassbender returning as a villainous slave owner.
I have heard some talk about people not wanting to see this movie because it's just another slave movie. If you compare it to something like "Lee Daniels the Butler" we can see that this movie is far FAR better that that movie in practically every department. People aren't playing comical caricatures of historical figures, they are actually able to embody the characters. The soundtrack is fantastic and while the violence is brutal, it's never excessive or indulgent. Besides, showing ugliness and human brutality is a running theme throughout the movie.
If you like watching movies that have patience and make you feel actual emotions instead of "Splodey man shoots gun" I highly recommend this one.