A dark chapter in America's past

Rating: 9/10 (7 February 2014)

Solomon Northup is a free and respectable black man living in 1860s New York. While in the South for a gig, he is kidnapped and sold into slavery, where he witnesses and experiences unspeakable cruelties. Renamed Platt, he is sent to work for a plantation owner Ford, who is relatively benign. But Solomon soon incurs the wrath of the overseer, and after an attempt on his life, he is sent on to Abernathy, a man with the reputation of being a "nigger-breaker". Abernathy is not only cruel, but preys on another young slave, Patsy, and regularly twists the Bible to justify his actions. Rescue eventually comes through the help of a white Canadian man, a builder hired by Abernathy. Opposed to slavery, he agrees to write to Solomon's family.
12 Years a Slave provided a very personal and insightful look at slavery in 19th century America. There were several scenes of extreme cruelty (beatings and lashings) that made me want to look away, but I think they were necessary to bring across the slaves' plight. It's one thing to read about how they were viewed as lesser beings and treated like commodities, but the reality only hits home when you see it portrayed on-screen. The acting was excellent and I loved how shots of nature were used to transit between different scenes - they helped to set the context and highlighted the bareness of the slaves' existence. One particular line from the movie stood out for me - Solomon said that he didn't want merely to survive, but to live. To me, this encapsulates what is so wrong about slavery. While I can't exactly say that I enjoyed the movie, it's most definitely worth watching.