A Compelling Experience with Excellent Acting

Rating: 8/10 (27 January 2014)

I found the story compelling and the acting excellent with perhaps two exceptions. Ejiofor and N'yongo both delivered breath-taking and heart- wrenching performances that deserve their many accolades and then some. The supporting work from Woodard, Oduye, Brown, and especially Topsy Chapman who does more with her face, body movements, and singing than anyone else does with dialog also kept the film poignant. Cumberbatch and Dano deserve the credit they have gotten for solid supporting performances of characters with layered dimensions. Brad Pitt also executes well the plum supporting role he gave himself. Berry, Chalk, Giamatti, McConnell, Dilahunt, Evermore, and Dylan all score in the one or two scenes in which they are featured. The cinematography and score are both terrific and give the film vitality to take us through the torturous moments. The costume design also deserved its Oscar nomination. I found McQueen's direction compelling throughout save two scenes I found extraneous just showing weary facial expressions.
Unlike others, I was less than impressed with the performances by Michael Fassbender & Sarah Paulson (an actor whose accolades I've never understood) as Mr. & Mrs. Epps. They seemed jarringly out-of-era to me in all expressions and mannerisms. Owners of large and profitable plantations of that era, even evil ones, would have more of an air of dignity - especially when dealing with the Judge and the Sheriff. Instead, Epps makes no apologies for being rough-hewn, petty, cynical, and bitter in front of the Judge and others. Evil, believing his slaves to be no more human than baboons, sure. Displaying less couth than an overseer with his fellow planters and in front of other whites? Not a chance. His biblical interpretation for his slaves was probably his best scene. But he is just too banal and vulgar "in public" in the others.
And you'd have to comb deep and far to find a planter's wife as emaciated and as publicly shrill as Sarah Paulson. Her bearing is just all wrong. I also would have liked to have seen some speculation on what Northrup's family was doing during those 12 years. That may not be covered in the memoir but this is a work of fiction based on a true incident - not a documentary (Why the sudden critics of the excellent MOVIE Captain Phillips could not see that and why they got to wield so much influence, I'll never understand - as good as McQueen's direction is here, Greengrass surpasses it in Phillips).
Anyway, 12 Years a Slave is a worthy enough candidate in its own right. Not perfect but certainly very good, possibly excellent.