An Emotionally Draining and Thought-Provoking Cinematic Event

Rating: 7/10 (10 November 2013)

With 12 Years a Slave comes a dour and distressing story about Solomon Northup, a freedman and a talented violinist, who was kidnapped one night and sold into slavery. This true story vividly captures his struggles and grueling journey through a very dark time. Now, slavery has recently become a relevant topic even though it no longer exists, but several films have released nonetheless, forcing us to relive the horrors that beset a once troubled race. As a matter of forewarning, this film is raw and relentless in its presentation for it's bound to disturb and place you in a level of discomfort that's rarely visited. You will be forced, as a viewer, to witness atrocious scenes of torture and whippings specifically as misty blood sprays into the air and the sight of deep and thick cuts makes you cringe to no end. By the end of the film, half of the theater was in tears, blowing their noses and withdrawing their tissues. It was certainly difficult to bear the missed opportunities and even larger troubles in a stricter environment.
Ultimately, the most crucial services to the power of this picture relates to its performances. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, and Lupita Nyong'O all putting in terrific effort and fully exhausting us with deep emotion. In addition, the rest of the supporting cast features the likes of Brad Pitt, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Alfre Woodard, Benedict Cumberbatch, and more- very impressive indeed. At the rolling of its credits, we are officially drained of any sense of happiness. Though the film isn't economic and takes its time with some ironic shots of beauty and others of a grim terrain, it's mercilessly saddening once its content fully sinks in and you understand the "bigger picture." The film's pacing relaxes in certain moments as particularly lengthy shots are utilized in order to realistically depict a situation, excluding any cinematic distractions. As I've mentioned before, this method produces the kind of footage that's raw and gritty; a scene will persist as it's gradually encompassed by a hopeless tone and hurtful details.
What packs the punch to the fullest extent of emotion is the incredible score by Hans Zimmer. It does sound a bit like Inception's soundtrack, but it's undoubtedly effective in its complement to a disheartening segment. "I survive! I will not fall into despair...I will kick myself harder until freedom is opportune." Powerful words are spoken, and although a film with such subject matter could've easily hit the point of excessive sentimentality and corny dialogue, the conversations actually carry some very strong points. This experience is arguably an incredibly important one, which is likely why it's garnering this amount of praise and hype.
The treatment of the white supremacist race towards a seemingly dissimilar kind can apply to any generation of our history and though the relationship isn't nearly as cruel, the feeling of utter discrimination is what faces both immigrants and homosexuals in contemporary times. Frankly, it's fascinating how modern peoples remain disgusted by these practices, but if you were to somehow teleport them to the age of slavery, would they feel exactly the same way? Racism has not ceased to exist, and most of the informed and aware would surely agree. Hopefully, this film will stir awareness within the more ignorant and prejudiced; I won't point any fingers, but you know. Upon viewing such atrocities, I can't imagine how society of the past could possibly deem such a way of life and action rightful. Of course, we could delve into philosophy and human nature, regarding greed and selfishness, for a considerable period of time, but I'd rather not.
With that being said, I honestly don't think it innovatively accomplishes anything but its emotionally compelling execution is what the applause might be directed at, at least for me. Several sequences, though, contain rather muttered speech that somewhat complicated the state of affairs as I couldn't find myself making out what the characters were exactly speaking of. 12 Years a Slave will shock you and leave you in contemplation and vexation. It will be one of those events in cinema where the audience shouldn't be expecting excitement, enchanting visuals, or mindless action but a truly thought-provoking production that will formidably rival the best films this year.