Brutally honest film which tells a story of slavery from a unique perspective.

Rating: 8/10 (14 November 2013)

By Jonathan L Hermitt
Another courageous effort made by Steve McQueen and John Ridley as they take the true and painful story of Solomon Northup to the big screen. Hollywood is carefully pulling the curtains aside- revealing the dark anecdotes built by their four fathers but also the western culture as a whole. Finally! More bold moves are being taken in mainstream feature film- and McQueen and Ridley are contributing.
Based on a true story and extracted from the book written by Solomon Northup himself- tells the emotionally harsh tale of a free black man who lives with his wife and children in Saratoga, New York and is deceived, kidnapped and sold as a slave in Washington D.C. There begins to tell and show the suffering, fear, cruelty of the slave trade, the cold, malice actions of the slavers but also the struggle of hope for Solomon's return home.
The honesty of the narrative was so strong it elevated the emotive response and the connection with the characters. Chiwetel Ejiofor (Solomon Northup) offered a riveting and grasping performance in each stage of his development; accompanied by the dramatic irony of the entire story, the audience remains empathetic to his betrayal. Sarah Paulson and Michael Fassbender outstanding work also have to be recognised due to not shying away from their character's persona but furthermore, understanding them- creating a tense ambiance by only entering the scene.
This may appear surprising or outlandish although I think that it could have been more honest in terms of the brutality of the violence.
In such harsh scenes Tarantino would have been well suited. Exploring more into the "slave-making" and punishment techniques apart from the cracking of the whip and bat would have truly opened our eyes in the struggle of the Africans. As I feel as a generation we are becoming desensitised by the generic whipping of slaves to a point where we've almost forgetting what these people actually went through and the monumental, ongoing fight to get where we are today. I mention this because the arc of the story felt a little rushed, and missed some substance that one might have received from the actual book.
Nonetheless, the only way this film can be described is honest, hurtful but necessary. It tells the story of slavery from different perspective which to some extent is refreshing. I think this film deserves a lot of credit and criticism and it would be anticipated to be an Oscar nominee or winning film.