Highly Over-rated

Rating: 6/10 (24 January 2014)

As I write this, the film is regarded as one of the two most likely to win Best Picture at the Oscars. I wouldn't bet against it. But, I'm sorry, having a powerful, undeniable message like "slavery is the greatest evil" does not, by itself, make a film great. Steve McQueen directed "Shame," which I could only endure for about 15 minutes. Like this movie, it was over the top. In that movie, it was sex that Mr. McQueen expected to fill seats in theaters. It did not seem like reality. I would be the last person to say that the worst kinds of torture and abuse were not heaped on black slaves in the United States. Of course they were. But if plantation owners spent as much of their time every day on demeaning and punishing their slaves, all of those plantations would have failed economically. Mr. McQueen filled the movie with non-stop whippings, lynchings and other abuse. Those slave owners would have done better without slaves, doing all the work themselves, if they actually devoted that much time to abusing their workers.
The musical score was a joke. Completely amateurish. The composer listed in the credits doesn't appear to have scored any other movies previously. The music does little or nothing to help us feel for the characters. Did Steve McQueen feel that he didn't even need good music to make a great movie?
Schindler's list, also a movie about genocide and the evil persecution of a people, was about a man in a good, safe position in life, who took big risks with his life for others. It had a more complex, richer story and characters. Spielberg did not try for an Oscar by delivering lengthy scenes of torture. In my opinion, this film does not deserve a Best Picture award, but it's likely to win one.