At times this is a very tough film to watch, but it is a film that you really should watch

Rating: 7/10 (19 May 2014)

There's no questioning the emotional impact that 12 years a slave had on me. It is quite simply an emotional punch to the stomach. The reason why I generally enjoy films that are based on true stories is that if done right they will either entertain me or move me (or sometimes both). 12 years a slave didn't entertain me (as the title of the film implies), but it was incredibly moving. This is largely down to the performances of Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong'o who were both convincing in their respective roles - I really felt for them and found myself trying to empathise with how much they must have suffered, but I feel it's impossible to truly appreciate the appalling treatment that these slaves must have suffered back in the 1840's.
This brings me neatly on to my next point; I've noticed that some people have criticised this film for the degree of violence that has been portrayed - I'm confused the film is about black people that are sold into slavery and the slaves were badly treated so why would you not expect it to be violent? McQueen and co have not held back and yes there are quite a number of scenes that are tough to watch, but I believe that this was done to give the audience a true understanding of how awful these black slaves were treated. Some may argue that the violence should have been toned down, but I personally feel that this would have made it feel less realistic.
There were minor problems with this film; I felt that the narrative was a bit messy - characters were introduced and then disappeared without much development. I also struggled to understand who did what - overseers, masters, debtors. All these characters were introduced with very little explanation as to what they all did. I haven't read the book but I would wager money that all this was explained better in the book. I also felt for this reason that some of the characters weren't developed quite as well as I would have hoped.
Aside from Ejiofor and Nyong'o, we also get strong performances from Fassbender and Dano. Dano doesn't get much screen time, but makes good use of the time that he's given. I personally think he's an excellent actor. Fassbender's character is the personification of evil and really gets into his character - another brilliant performance. Brad Pitt shows up towards the end, but Pitt merely goes through the motions (although in fairness he isn't called upon to do much else). Although he is only in the film for a short period of time his character proves to be very important to the plot - I won't spoil why though.
This is a great film that certainly isn't an easy film to watch. If you're the sort of person that gets upset by violent scenes then I'm not sure that this will be the film for you - which is a shame as it is very good. I myself am not keen on violence in films if it is violence just for the sake of violence - i.e it serves no purpose. In 12 years a slave the violence does serve a purpose and that's the big difference. The ending of the film is particularly moving and I suspect that it will leave quite a few people with teary eyes. A wonderful film that is essential viewing.