Good film but not the Best Picture of 2013

Rating: 7/10 (26 February 2014)

This is a good film, maybe even an historically worthy film, but not a great film. There's little that is truly outstanding about it with the sole exception of a performance by Michael Fassbender. The rest of the cast deliver a very narrow range of emotions that are as predictable from their horribly unjust situation, as they are uninteresting.
It is a simple tale told well, but I'm afraid it doesn't stack up next to many of the other films nominated for Best Picture. If a work is to be judged by the three measuring sticks of aesthetics: unity, complexity, and intensity, it lacks in complexity. Severely so. In fact without Michael Fassbender's portrayal of a sexually and mentally deviant slave owner, one could imagine this film attracting no more attention than your common movie of the week.
American Hustle, Nebraska, Dallas Buyers Club, and even The Wolf of Wall Street are much more interesting films with far more nuanced performances and with contemporary edge. But we live in times where simple and common are celebrated by the many, and edge is uncomfortable, even with the voting majorities of many professional movie organizations, and as last years wins for the eminently forgettable Argo can attest, this film's string of wins is likely to continue with a Best Picture Oscar, after which it will be as quickly forgotten as next years's hot Reality TV show.
We should count ourselves lucky that great films are still being made, whether they're recognized during awards Silly Season or not.