Genre:
Historical / Drama
Directed
by: Steve McQueen
Cast:
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong’O, Sarah Paulson
Running
time: 134 minutes
Based on the slave narrative memoirs of
Solomon Northup, 12 Years a Slave tells the story of how a free
African-American man living with his wife and kids in the New York area was
enslaved for over a decade. Northup, who was making a living as a violinist,
was invited to perform in Washington by two white men, who then drugged him and
sold him to a slave pen. It would take 12 years of hardships before he would
get his freedom back. Solomon Northup would then become an advocate for the
abolition of slavery.
This film is not for the faint of heart. Some
scenes can be hard to take, as the violence is very graphic and feels quite
real. That being said, the subject matter demanded such realism. As it was long
ago, we tend to forget about the atrocity that was slavery, but, at least, a
movie like 12 Years a Slave did a great job shining a bright light on it.
All of the actors involved did a solid job
here carrying their respective characters. The makers of 12 Years a Slave had a
loaded cast to work with, with names such as Michael Fassbender, Paul Dano,
Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Giamatti and Brad Pitt. In some cases, these actors
had smaller roles. Fortunately, in all cases, the appearance of these
well-known actors did not feel like cameos and they did not take away from the
whole package.
12 Years a Slave is a film that has to be
seen, at least once, if not more. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
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