***1/2

Rating: 9/10 (8 September 2014)

The degradation and dehumanization of a human being is well told in this best picture Oscar winner of 2013.
This especially rings true since the victim was a resident of upstate New York who was duped into traveling to Washington where he was chained and shipped off to the south to begin his life as a slave.
Treachery and cruelty abounds in the film and Lupita Nyongo gave a terrific supporting Oscar performance as a slave in perpetual whining for the children she was separated from. Michael Fassbender, as the cruel slave owner, is mesmerizing and deserved further Oscar consideration.
Alfre Woodward shows what an ex-slave could accomplish if he or she played their cards correctly.