Most Realistic Depiction of Slavery I've Seen on Screen

Rating: 8/10 (15 January 2014)

Artist-turned-Director Steve McQueen always comes up with such intriguing and unique stories/movies with vast psychological and emotional depth. Like his previous two brilliant works, 'Hunger' and 'Shame', '12 Years a Slave' is relatable at so many human levels.
When you talk about slavery, you can ask how can it be relevant or relatable to all of us? The principal story of the movie is about a free black man who is tricked and sold into slavery, and suddenly loses his freedom in his early 30's. The movie clearly portrays Slavery as the loss of Freedom in which people are bullied and tortured to work for their masters; that speaks to everyone at some level or the other. This bold and powerful cinematic piece by McQueen is, by far, the most brutally real and gripping portrayal of the Slavery I've seen on screen; it doesn't celebrate the torture or bloodshed, and it doesn't talk about revenge - it just depicts things as they were. For many of the scenes, the camera non-judgmentally lingers around the characters; it almost makes you feel guilty that you're there, but there lies the beauty of the movie.
British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor started his film career over 15 years ago, and has been 'that guy' actor for a while. We've seen him around in many significant not-so-lengthy roles in many good films, but this is the film which will finally push people to learn his name properly. He has given an impeccable performance, and the talent with which he delves into the emotional depth of the character (Solomon Northup) helps you picture the situations through his eyes. McQueen regular Michael Fassbender skilfully transforms himself as the despicable and arrogant slaver Edwin Epps, and is almost unrecognizable in his new villainous role. Sarah Paulson is terrific as the proud, obnoxious and jealous wife of Edwin Epps, and is more discriminate and cruel than her husband, which is quite unusual for female characters in historic movies. As expected, supporting actors like Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Brad Pitt and Paul Giamatti perform their parts quite ably. But it's debutant Lupita Nyong'o, playing the part of tortured and sexually-abused slave Patsey, who's the star of the movie and almost outshines everyone else. The movie revolves around lead character Solomon, but towards the second half, it's the agony, misery and anger of Patsey that drives the story forward. And the flair with which Miss Nyong'o portrays these emotions is really commendable. In my opinion, she's the emotional epicenter of the film.
The cinematography by Sean Bobbitt is remarkable. Hans Zimmer's background score surely goes well with the characters' emotions, but the resemblance it bears with 'Time' from Inception (his previous work) proves to be a big distraction. Score resemblances to other great movies diminishes the impact of the scene to a certain extent (because the mind already associates it with something else). This is the only complain I had with the movie.
Overall, it's a brilliantly portrayed journey of survival and redemption. "Slavery is an evil that should befall none."