Slavery's Schindler's List, and deserving of all the appreciation and praise.

Rating: 8/10 (20 September 2014)

From Steve McQueen, director of one-word, underrated masterpieces such as Hunger and Shame, comes this slavery epic starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender. The film follows Solomon Northup, a free man living with his family in New York, after he is tricked, kidnapped, and then sold into slavery. For 12 years he was degraded and tortured- both physically and mentally. His terrifying journey begins with working for Master Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), a kind slave owner; as kind as a slave holder can be. Solomon's journey then leads to him to owner Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), a crazed, overly-religious, cruel owner. Solomon must muster up all the strength he has and never give up hope, for if he surrenders and accepts the position he is in, even if he survives he will never live. Back in 1993, Steven Spielberg directed the cinematic masterpiece Schindler's List. The incredible film took an unflinching look at the Holocaust and the sheer brutality of the Nazis. The film took home 7 Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Film of the Year. Since then, many movies have taken a realistic, terrifying look at the Holocaust; for instance, The Boy with the Stripped Pajamas and Inglourious Bastards. However, no Holocaust film has lived up to the unwavering storytelling of Schindler's List. 12 Years a Slave is not about the Holocaust, but it's aggressive look at slavery is just as awe-inspiring. I have been somewhat of a fan of director Steven McQueen for a while now, even since I experienced Hunger. His directing is unlike anything I've ever seen, the stillness and steadiness of some of his movies is hauntingly beautiful. The best thing about McQueen is that he can really get amazing, realistic performances from his actors. From the extremely underrated Chiwetel Ejiofor, to a cameo performance from Brad Pitt, the ensemble in this film was phenomenal. Everyone had an important part to play and everyone did an outstanding job, particularly Ejiofor. Before watching this movie, I had quite the conundrum when it came to who should win best actor. Tom Hanks did an amazing job as Captain Phillips in Captain Phillips, it looked like Matthew Mcaughnahy is continuing his incredible career improvement in Dallas Buyer's Club, and I'm one of those people who thinks it's absolutely ridiculous that Leonardo DiCaprio hasn't won an Academy Award yet, so I was hoping for the best with The Wolf of Wall Street. I had no idea who should win, now I do. Chiwetel's performance as Solomon Northup was undoubtedly the best this whole year. He is incredibly powerful and sympathetic, and he makes you hope and pray the character will survive this horrific ordeal. The amount of fear and turmoil he can convey with just a single look is mesmerizing. And I highly doubt he is the only actor who will bring home the golden statue for this movie. Michael Fassbender, playing the ruthless Edwin Epps, also delivers one of the best performances this year. He's a villain who lacks any sort of redemption, much like Ralph Fienne's performance in Schindler's List. His purpose in the movie is for the audience to hate and despise him, and it's safe to say they achieved their objective. Then there is novice actress Lupita Nyong'o, playing Patesy, a slave on the Epps plantation that Edwin has an attraction towards. Her performance, even though she only shows up half way through the movie, is one of the most memorable. Every single actor did an astonishing job, and they all deserve to be recognized for it. Then we get to the writing, one of the most crucial parts of any motion picture. At first, when I heard that the screenwriter was going to be the same writer of Red Tails and Undercover Brother, I was terrified. Both films were terribly written and it would be unfortunate for a movie with this amount of potential to fall apart due to an inconsistent script. Luckily, the writing was superb as well. The characters were well fleshed out and the pacing was hauntingly realistic. Solomon Northup's true story is an incredible one full of courage and strength, it's nice to see the film adaptation does it justice. Overall, 12 Years A Slave is the quintessential slavery epic. Thanks to Steve McQueen's harrowing, realistic direction, the lead actor's powerful and heart wrenching performance, 12 Years A Slave is, without a doubt, the most incredible film of 2013, and one of the best ever made. It's fair to say it more than deserves such a prestigious title.