Good movie...but Best Picture good?

Rating: 8/10 (19 March 2014)

I won't try and deny the impact "12 Years a Slave" has. The unblinking way the film looked at the torture, horror and torment that was slavery is brutal, hard to watch and leaves an emotional mark on the viewer. The film tells a great, powerful story (and interesting too since it's based on a true story) and the performances from Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender are truly fantastichowever, I can't help but feel the movie is overrated.
While the film is good and it definitely made me cry at the end when Solomon Northup was finally found and set free, the movie had a very messy plot that really failed at expressing that it really was 12 years that Northup had to go through after being kidnapped and sold into slavery. I understand that director Steve McQueen and the screen writer wanted to solely show the horrors of this journey from Northup's perspective but this ended up making the film feel like it was incomplete. It jumps from scene to scene and there was no real sense of time passing. The entire film felt like it took place over a few weeks or a month or two but, suddenly as Northup is being set free, I see he has gray hair and I found myself saying, "Well, I guess 12 years have passed." I couldn't help but feel it would have been nice to see how his family was handling it or the progress of finding him. Without this and only seeing what Northup was going through, the movie felt like stuff was left on the editing room floor and just gave an overall sloppy appearance of the plot.
Did I dislike "12 Years a Slave?" Absolutely not. Did it feel like it wasn't living up to what it could have been? Absolutely. The film told a fantastically emotional and powerful story but it presented it in a way that looked like it was more concerned with getting as many big name actors attached to it than it was telling a complete tale. While a good movie, I just didn't find the film to be a great one.
Hey there! The name is Rev. Ron and I love movies! You can read a more in-depth review of this film (and others that may, or may not, be based on a true story) at my blog. Just skip on over to revronmovies.blogspot.com. Or not. You don't have to.