Best movie of the year

Rating: 10/10 (12 January 2014)

Few films move me, and fewer still evoke an emotion so powerful as to move me to tears. Made all the more real by it's truth, one that we as a species must never forget. It also endeavors to show us all the shades of grey which existed at that time, and that slavery was not a universally accepted ideology even then.
The entire movie I found myself waiting for Solomon (the protagonist played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) to lose it and kill them all like some tale of vengeance, but this doesn't occur. If you're expecting Django Unchained here, stop and forget the thought. Despite action aficionados wanting such a thing believe me when I say it's good that it doesn't go down this way. Solomon is not a murderer (even if one could consider it justifiable) and he's not cruel. He's just a man thrust in to a world he doesn't know, but is forced to understand. The development of his character from a carefree person with no worries to a person who's eyes are opened to humanity's horrors through physical and emotional pain and loss is well paced.
To say that Chiwetel Ejiofor performance was incredible and heartfelt wouldn't be doing it sufficient justice - nor would it be fair to discount the performances of any other actor in this film. It is a rare pleasure to have a cast so invested as to give 150% throughout. When I saw Brad Pitt's name in the cast I thought for sure that he would have more screen time being as well known as he is, but such is not really the case. He plays an important but relatively small part in the picture which is assisted in just the right portions by the entire cast.
Even if you're not one for dramas, you should make time for this movie. Through its profoundly brutal depiction of a pre-civil war America we are given a very small but revealing glimpse in to one of the darkest and most deplorable periods of the country's history. Cinematic performances don't get better than this.