A glossy veneer, but still undeniably powerful viewing.

Rating: 7/10 (27 January 2014)

The hype surrounding this film has been colossal to the point were it was difficult to not have very high expectations. When seeing the trailer, I thought it ticked the boxes for 'Oscar Porn' with the rousing score and the subject of slavery in which films like Django Unchained and Lincoln both won Oscars last year. I thought the film was slightly over-hyped as it admittedly had a veneer of Hollywood gloss added into the mix, but it could have been a lot worse. Having said that, there was much to admire about it too.
The story follows Solomon Northup, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who is a free man living in Saratoga with his wife and children. He is suddenly kidnapped and sold into slavery. He is first sold to a man named Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), who is a slave owner, but seems to have a conscience and treats his slaves relatively well. After a serious confrontation with Ford's chief carpenter Tibeats (Paul Dano), a comparatively cruel man who cannot stand Solomons intelligence, Ford decides to sell Solomon to Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender) for his own safety. Edwin Epps turns out to be inhumane and psychotic possessing a strange and twisted obsession with Patsey (Lupita Nyong'o), a female slave who receives much of Epps's cruelty. What Solomon encounters is horrifying to the point were he is almost broken. He has to pretend he is not a learn-ed man and has to never reveal his true identity otherwise he will be killed.
As mentioned before, there is a lot to admire about this film. Firstly, the music. Solomon Northup is a competent fiddle player and is sometimes asked to play under duress by Epps for a bit of entertainment for himself and the slaves. It shows that music acts as a distraction, not only for the slaves, but hiding Epp's own insecurities. We also see many shots of the slaves working in the plantations and how they sing to get through the day. 'Roll Jordan Roll' is a great scene were the slaves get together and sing this song to lift their spirits after the death of a slave during a routine days work. Solomon eventually joins in and sings along emotionally, making this a memorable scene, and a song which stayed in my head. Also, when Paul Dano sings 'Run N****r Run' to the slaves as a means of introduction and how the soundtrack continues over subsequent scenes which shows how the fear perpetuated by this character continues in their daily lives as he watches them.
The acting is also very good by the first rate cast. Chiwetel Ejiofor is admirable as Solomon Northup. We see the sorrow in his eyes and the changing body language and facial expressions as he endures these awful events. We also see his determination and hope as he stays silent, but constantly looking for any opportunity to tell someone about who he really is. Although the characters played by Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano and Michael Fassbender seem like cliché villains, there is no denying how good the performances were especially by Michael Fassbender as Edwin Epps. His character is unpredictable. I could never tell when he will fly into a bout of psychotic rage. When it happens, it's scary. The best thing about the film for me was Lupita Nyong'o who plays the ill fated Patsey. What she has to endure from Epps is a horrifying and shocking journey. She will win best supporting actress for her courageous performance I think.
The film was very beautifully shot. The surroundings were the slaves live are beautiful. They are constantly surrounded by the beauty of nature which is an intentional thing as Director Steve McQueen is trying to capture the co-existence of natural beauty and brutality. There are some lingering shots, most notably, a long shot of Solomon hanging from a rope. The audience have to endure his suffering as he spends hours staying on his tip toes to slacken the rope. The slaves continue their everyday life in the background as if they are impervious to this sort of brutality. It is a scene which tells the viewer a lot about mans inhumanity to man and the subservience of the slaves, made all the more palpable by the fact that some of the overseers are former field workers.
The film does come with a few flaws. The deception happens too quickly at the beginning of the film that we do not get to know much of his family life. The afore mentioned Hollywood gloss takes away some of the heartfelt honesty I felt it should have portrayed, but it is still undeniably powerful and upsetting. Some scenes are still shocking, especially the treatment of Patsey by both Edwin Epps and his jealous and controlling wife, played with a subtle and menacingly unfeeling demeanour by Sarah Poulson. The passage of time is a problem as it does not seem like he has spent 12 years being a slave. It could have been called '12 Months a slave'. The abolitionist character 'Bass' is noticeably distracting as he is played by Brad Pitt in this small part.
It seemed convenient that Brad Pitt was one of the producers and wanted to cast himself as the hero.
Despite it's flaws, it may still remain as one of the more memorable films of the year. I feel the film was made in a way that was palatable to a wide audience, but still remained shocking and moving to the many that saw it. There are many strong views expressed about the film, some interesting, most very over-the-top. It is best to view it as a unique eyewitness account of a dark time in American History.
See my review at (www.projectionistreview.wordpress.com).