12 Years a Slave

This movie portrays a lot of evil. It is hard for me to believe that people can be so cruel but it is a reality of the world we live in. In terms of racism-related films, you can organize them along a feel-good/feel-sorry spectrum. An example of a feel-good movie is "Remember the Titans" and an example of a film at the other end of the spectrum would be "The Butler". "12 Years a Slave" falls into the middle of the spectrum alongside "The Help". The reason I gave the same rating to both "12 Years a Slave" and "The Butler" even though they are on different parts of the spectrum is that while the former film has a better ending and more happy moments, the amount of negativity is huge. I will say that I enjoyed "12 Years a Slave" more than "The Butler" because it is much more dramatic. I applaud the cinematography, editing, acting and musical score in this film. The title of this movie automatically divulges that the main character will eventually be freed because there is a time frame of his ordeal so don't blame me for spoiling things.

The first thing I took notice as I watched this show was the cinematography. There were a lot of extreme close ups that create suspense and drama. They also added to the realism of the film. There was also a strong relationship between the cinematography and the editing. This was important during long shots for example such as when Patsey is whipped. That was a very well done sequence because as horrific as it was, the audience's attention and emotional involvement is maintained. You didn't even notice the use of long shots. The acting during that scene is very noteworthy because of the length of shots. To stay in character that for that long and deliver a powerful performance is one reason why this movie is so well done. In the true story, Epps made Solomon a driver which meant that he was an overseer of the other slaves and penalized them for disobedience. The film does depict this but only in this one scene. I support this change because Solomon needs to have morality. I believe along with the characters of Solomon and Mr. Bass that justice will come to these people who performed these awful deeds. Whether in the flesh or in the afterlife, they answered for or will have to answer and pay for what they did. Most of the story has a linear narrative but there are also non-linear moments that work well. I knew going into this movie that there was nudity and swearing, which always bothers me. The film could have been a lot more explicit but it wasn't so that is good. Unlike other films made today, there are some justifications because the nudity and immorality in "12 Years a Slave" unfortunately depict actual atrocities of the period. The same is true with Steven Spielberg's Oscar-winning "Schindler's List". There is a major difference between the two movies however. "Schindler's List" was about people being spared from the worst of the Holocaust. We saw the evil but generally, the Schindler Jews were saved from it. "12 Years a Slave" has our protagonist as a witness and a victim to the worst horror of southern slavery. The audience knows subconsciously at least that Solomon will be freed at the end so there are moments in the movie that tease us into thinking that his troubles will soon be over so as to create the necessary drama. The climax is handled well on screen and this is important because in the case of this show, the audience knew the eventual ending. Usually, the audience is unaware of the final outcome of the story and so they are fully engrossed in what they are watching thus creating suspense. The climax of "12 Years a Slave" automatically has no suspense so the filmmakers put focus on Solomon's reaction to being liberated because that will touch the audience the most.

The casting in this film and how well the actors did impressed me. I have seen Chiwetel Ejiofor in a few other films but this was definitely his best performance yet. His dialect and that of the other actors created realism. Benedict Cumberbatch is really getting my attention these days. He is in so many movies this year and for obvious reasons. His performance was such that you like Ford but the tragedy of his character is that he is still part of the evilness that is slavery. Michael Fassbender's makeup and performance was such that his character was completely believable. His was the best work of any actor in the film. When I first took notice of actor Paul Giamatti as a teenager, he came across as a B-actor to me. I was wrong. He is so good in dramatic roles. I also applaud the performances of Lupita Nyong'o (she won the Screen Actor's Guild Award for her work) and Sarah Paulson (she also did amazing in creating a villainous character). Sometimes, you need a big star to save the day and so Brad Pitt (who is also a producer of this film) was a good choice to play Bass. His character becomes our voice in the movie. Ejiofor, Nyong'o and Fassbender all got Oscar nominations and I was hoping for Ejiofor and Nyong'o to win. Ejiofor lost unfortunately but Nyong'o, in her first feature film, took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. I had predicted that she would take home the ultimate prize! Filming took place very close to the real life locations of the true story and was shot on film instead of digitally. Great measures were taken to be historically accurate such as design and dialect. Some costumes that were found and used on the set belonged to real slaves from that era. The musical score played a huge part in creating the mood for any given scene and I could tell that this composer was experienced as I watched "12 Years a Slave". When I saw Hans Zimmer's name in the end credits, it all made sense because one of the themes reminded me of the music at the end of "Inception".

Just like "Argo" the year before, "12 Years a Slave" was a happy surprise when it won Best Dramatic Picture at the Golden Globes because it was the film's only win that night. This movie also deserves its Best Picture win at the Academy Awards and it was my pick to win that year. "Gravity" seemed to be cleaning house and so I again got a happy surprise when "12 Years a Slave" got the big award that night. This is Brad Pitt's first Oscar win by the way. In addition to the Oscar nominations already mentioned, this show was also nominationed for Director, Costume Design, Editing, Production Design and Adapted Screenplay. I was hoping out of those catagories that it would win for Director, Costume & Production Design but I was let down. I was predicting that the Oscar for editing would go to Joe Walker but that award was one of many that went to "Gravity". At least my prediction that John Ridley was going to win for his screenplay came to pass. The music, performances and cinematography also stood out to me the most from a technical standpoint but this show is a hard film to watch, make no mistake. The feelings of evil you have during various scenes are very potent. One question I asked myself after leaving the theater was whether it right to make tell a story about the suffering of actual people for profit. I am sure that is not director Steve McQueen's intention though. Understanding the misery of slavery is important but my greatest hope for this film is that the hearts of the filmmakers involved are in the right place.

3.5 Stars