Astounding movie with enormous emotion.

Rating: 10/10 (29 January 2014)

Saw this movie today, and it stirred up a string of emotions in me. I have seen movies dealing with slavery before, but it has never impacted me as this movie did. Number one, the acting was impeccable from all sides by all actors. Chiwetel Ejiofor is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors. He turned in a powerful performance, drawing in the emotions of the character Solomon Northup, a MAN, who was kidnapped and stripped away from his family and sold into Slavery. I could feel the emotion from the Character, but could not fathom being in that predicament. I will not make this review very long, simply because I could write an essay on all the good points of the film. The dialogue between Solomon (Pratt) and Patsey, played by Lupita Nyong'o was astounding, heart-breaking, and explicitly honest. The communication between the 2 characters capture the despair, misery, and hopelessness felt by my ancestors during that time of National injustice, moral decadence, and Godlessness in the Laws, behaviors, and attitudes by Slaver owners, and Slave smugglers.
Acting was superb! I could not have picked a better cast. By the end of the film, I was just about in tears at the resolution and the emotion that ensued. A man's most prized possession is his freedom. Rob any man of that unjustly, and soon his hope, spirit, and soul will follow. But Solomon, was a man who did not, and would not give let his soul, and his spirit fall into despair and hopelessness.
When I look back and think about all the evil, maniacal, heinous, hideous, and despicable things we did, I can't help but shake my head. It is not a man in a red suit with horns we need to be afraid of, it is us. We are the worse of the worse. Who is the judge of what's morally right and what's immoral? Us? You gotta be kidding!! We KNOW that things we do are immorally wrong, but use the "Law" as a safety net to continue in evil doings. As Brad Pitts Character said in the movie, "there is State law, federal law, and then there is "Universal Law". The y may pass a law tomorrow saying it is lawful for a man to lay with a 10 yr old girl and marry. But because it's "lawful" does that mean I would partake?? Regardless of what that law says, that act is incomprehensible!! Christ Law super-cedes man's law every time.
One reviewer wrote he believes Solomon and the 2 men who sold him into slavery were trying to pull some "scam" to make money and Solomon got the short end of the stick. That's what I mean, freedom, the freedom to say something as idiotic as that.