Promises a lot, but falls short

Rating: 6/10 (4 November 2013)

The director promised authenticity, but he didn't deliver it. I have seen slavery movies again and again and this one has to be the most inauthentic one ever. The acting was inauthentic. Ejiofor disappointed me. I have seen great actors acting a role and I have to say, Ejiofor doesn't even come close.
***SPOILER***The scene when he finds himself in shackles: he couldn't act like he was actually a captured individual, about to be sold into slavery. This guy looked like a 2013 man paid to pretend to be a captured slave. That's not authenticity.
Also, why was he made to appear as if he was a passive observer in his story? What's up with that McQueen? He looked like he was just standing by while things went on with other people. Go home and watch There Will Be Blood and tell me if Daniel Day-Lewis' character was a passive observer.
Also, was there any character study done? Because if they say there was, I wouldn't believe it. Watching it, I could tell it was a movie. Good movies look so real that you can't tell it's a movie. Perfect example of a slave movie that looks real, Goodbye Uncle Tom. Go watch it now and compare it to 12 Years a Slave. Hell, even watch Django Unchained and compare it to this one and you'll say Django is better.
Which brings me to white people. White people probably gave this movie great reviews because it was so tame. I bet when they heard that another slavery movie was being released, they shook in their seats at huffington post or san francisco chronicle. I bet they thought this movie was going to expose all the wrongs of slavery in a way that makes Django Unchained look like Mickey Mouse. Well, it didn't.
All the bad things about slavery are hidden in this movie. **Spoiler** The rape scene looks more like a sex scene. The hanged people are unseen. And torture is so weak. True, they show whippings, but that was the least of it during slavery. They hid too much from us in this movie and that's why white people loved such a mediocre movie.
If you like a nice, tame movie which doesn't even put the main character at the forefront of the plot, you'll love 12 Years a Slave. If you're a movie enthusiast who loves a deep, emotionally challenging picture like Boys Don't Cry or Monster or more recently Fruitvale Station, then you'll hate this movie.