A mediocre film on an important topic

Rating: 6/10 (20 January 2014)

'12 Years a Slave' is just one of those films that tries too hard to make a point which could be made much more effectively with less effort. The only reason it's being rated so high is probably the fact that there hadn't been a film about slavery made in many years.
First of all, any film about slavery shouldn't be made to be enjoyed and '12 Years a Slave' at first does succeed in making a viewer uneasy. However, once the plot really unravels the film becomes plagued with feelings of self-importance, overacting and stereotyped and caricatured characters, and that's where it loses all the credibility it had to begin with. It's a decent film at best, but not one that should be remembered or highly praised, especially for acting. It was particularly painful to watch female slaves cry, because every single one of them (and I literally mean, every single one) portrays crying on a pre-school play level.
It is obvious that '12 Years a Slave' is aiming for awards and recognition, but it simply isn't enough to cover a serious topic to make a film worthy of high recognition. Although, I believe that it will achieve both (undeservingly so in my opinion), if for nothing more than because the Academy probably doesn't want another slavery film bashed like 'The Color Purple'. However, it is irrelevant whether it wins any awards or not, '12 Years a Slave' is destined to share the fate of 'The Color Purple' - it will be marked as important and then completely forgotten.
6/10