Impressive and compelling

Rating: 9/10 (6 September 2014)

Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a free black family man living in Saratoga, New York. In 1841, he is lured by two men who hire him to play his violin. When they arrive in Washington, he is abducted and given the false identity of a runaway slave. He is smuggled back into the deep south to be sold to the somewhat kind William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch). However he runs afoul of the jealous chief carpenter John Tibeats (Paul Dano) and Ford sells him to the cruel Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender). Patsey (Lupita Nyong'o) is the best cotton picker and she's constantly raped by Epps. His wife (Sarah Paulson) knows it and targets her anger on the helpless slave. It's a dangerous life and Northup must hide his identity from everyone. It's only until Canadian Bass (Brad Pitt) that he can truly rely on somebody to help him.
This is more than a slave movie. The fact that this is an educated man forced into slavery puts it closer to the audience. It's easier to see one's self in the Northup character in that he starts off as a regular family guy. His trials and tribulations are more compelling because of it. The performance of Chiwetel Ejiofor just reinforces that idea. He's not a superhero. He struggles. He's afraid. He's just a guy off the streets. The other performances are just as outstanding. Each one is as impressive as the next. Brad Pitt does stick out a little and I wish a smaller actor could play the part. This is the most impressive movie I've seen from Steve McQueen.