When all those watching your movie leave the theatre with tears streaming down their face, you know you that you have created something very special - that is what happened when I saw 12 Years A Slave at the BFI London Film Festival last year. The Steve McQueen directed movie whipped up a major storm on the festival circuit at the end of 2013 before being released into cinemas back in January.
12 Years A Slave
12 Years A Slave really was one of the first 'must see' films of 2014, as McQueen delivered another movie gem - he had already directed the acclaimed Hunger and Shame - but this really was the best film of his career to date. The movie was an adaptation of Solomon Northup's memoir of the same name and saw Chiwetel Ejiofor take on the central role, in what was to be the most important role that he has ever played.
In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup (Ejiofor), a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty (personified by a malevolent slave owner, portrayed by Michael Fassbender) as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon's chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist (Pitt) forever alters his life.
I was already a huge Steve McQueen - Hunger is another incredibly powerful film that you really should check out if you have not seen it already - but with 12 Years A Slave he has truly made a movie masterpiece. The word 'masterpiece' is banded around far too often for my liking, but 12 Years A Slave is just that.
12 Years A Slave is not a movie that you will find yourself watching on a regular basis, but it is a film that is a must see as it is a ferocious and uncompromising exploration of slavery - this is a movie that should be show in schools around the world.
Chiwetel Ejiofor takes on the central role of Solomon and delivers a performance that is set to change the direction of his career. Ejiofor has been doing great work on the big and small screen for many years, but this is the film that really shows off the best of him as an actor. It is a totally devastating performance as Ejiofor as he truly disappears into this character.
Yet, Northup is a man who never loses his faith, making this a movie that is as much about the strength of the human spirit as it is about slavery. Ejiofor is truly wonderful and deserved all of the acclaim and award nominations that came his way at the beginning of the year.
Michael Fassbender is also on top form as Epps as he delivers a towering and chilling performance as the savage plantation owner who makes the lives of his slaves a mystery. We already knew that Fassbender was a versatile actor, but this is a performance that we have never seen before. The flogging scene towards the end of the film is one of the most powerful as well as being one of many that is incredibly difficult to watch.
12 Years A Slave is the most powerful movie that I have watched this year, and is one of those films that stayed with me long after the credits rolled - it really is incredibly haunting as McQueen delivers some brutal and violent scenes, images, and moments that are difficult to shake off and forget.
It would have been so easy for McQueen to make a 'Hollywood' version of slavery - as we have seen many times over the years - but he has remained true to Northup's original memoir, to deliver a real, raw, and true account of what happened to this free man. Every scene is dripping with reality, and that is another reason why this movie is an uncomfortable and difficult watch.
12 Years A Slave is a movie that is driven by tremendous performances from the entire cast, while McQueen has been bold and brave with the story that he wanted to tell and the way that he wanted to tell it. It is an uncompromising and unflinching movie and that really helps make it the modern masterpiece that it is. 12 Years A Slave was one of the 'must see' movies of the year, and was a film that really didn't disappoint.
Tagged in 12 Years A Slave