Rated
R (Violence/Cruelty, Some Nudity and Brief Sexuality)
Running
Time: 2 Hours & 14 Minutes
Cast-
Chiwetel
Ejiofor-Solomon Northup
Michael
Fassbender-Edwin Epps
Lupita
Nyong'o-Patsey
Sarah
Paulson-Mary Epps
Benedict
Cumberbatch-William Ford
Brad
Pitt-Samuel Bass
Paul
Dano-John Tibeats
Alfre
Woodard-Harriet Shaw
Paul
Giamatti-Theophilus Freeman
Garret
Dillahunt-Armsby
Scoot
McNairy-Merrill Brown
Taran
Killam-Abram Hamilton
Christopher
Berry-James Burch
Adepero
Oduye-Eliza
Chris
Chalk-Clemens Ray
Michael
Kenneth Williams-Robert
J.D.
Evermore-Chapin
Andy
Dylan-Treach
Kelsey
Scott-Anne Northup
Quvenzhané
Wallis-Margaret Northup
Cameron
Zeigler-Alonzo Northup
Ashley
Dyke-Anna
Directed
by Steve McQueen
 |
| Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, and Lupita Nyong'o deliver powerful performances in Steve McQueen's 2013 masterpiece "12 Years a Slave." |
Note: Missed this film when it was released so I'm making up for it now.
Adopted
by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence proudly made
the following proclamation in its second sentence: 'We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and
the pursuit of Happiness.' Although described as 'one of the best-known sentences
in the English language' and containing 'the most potent and consequential
words in American history,' Jefferson's statement was only true if you were a
white male. How can he declare that 'all men are created equal' yet still allow
slavery to exist? This blatant contradiction did not go unnoticed, with British
abolitionist Thomas Day denouncing the document as pure hypocrisy with the
following remark: 'If there be an object truly ridiculous in nature, it is an
American patriot, signing resolutions of independency with the one hand, and
with the other brandishing a whip over his affrighted slaves.' We all know that
slavery is evil; this was taught to us since elementary school but almost 150
years later, America's original sin has been thoroughly sanitized, used only to
pat our country on the back for all the progress we've made since then while the
daily brutality that slaves faced is only given a passing mention in history
books. Director Steve McQueen's latest film, "12 Years a Slave,"
changes all that. He doesn't want you to 'understand' or to 'sympathize'; he
wants you to face the living hell that all African Americans faced in the
antebellum South, to feel the same pain they felt as they were whipped over and
over again until they could stand no more, their backs completely torn open.
Anchored by an incredible performance from Chiwetel Ejiofor, "12 Years a
Slave" is an unflinchingly brutal and emotionally harrowing exploration of
America's dark and shameful past, a film that is not only a masterpiece but
also stands as an essential piece of modern cinema.
Opening
in 1841, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a free-born African American
living a peaceful life in Saratoga Springs, New York with his wife Anne (Kelsey
Scott) and two children, Alonzo (Cameron Zeigler) and Margaret (Quvenzhané
Wallis). A skilled carpenter and an accomplished violinist, Solomon is
approached one day by a pair of well-dressed men named Merrill Brown
(Scoot McNairy) and Abram Hamilton (Taran Killam), who claim to be professional
illusionists for a famous traveling circus. They reveal that they're looking to
hire a talented musician who'd be willing to play a few engagements in
Washington, D.C. for the circus. Promising to compensate him with all traveling
expenses covered, Solomon readily agrees to the offer. Unfortunately, the job
turns out be a ruse. Arriving at the nation's capital, Brown and Hamilton treat
their new friend to a celebratory dinner and secretly drug him. Waking up the
next morning, Solomon finds himself chained to the floor in a dark jail cell and
about to be sold into slavery. He desperately tries to convince slave dealer
James Burch (Christopher Berry) of his status as a free man but he viciously
beats him into submission instead and forces him to adopt the identity of a
runaway slave from Georgia named 'Platt.' Shipped to New Orleans, Louisiana,
Solomon is sold to a plantation owner named William Ford (Benedict
Cumberbatch), who turns out be a benevolent, if willfully ignorant, master.
However, when Solomon fights back against Ford's racist chief carpenter John
Tibeats (Paul Dano), Ford is forced to sell him for his own safety. Edwin Epps
(Michael Fassbender), Solomon's new master, is the complete opposite of Ford as
he believes his right to abuse his slaves is biblically sanctioned. He also
lusts after a young female slave named Patsey (Lupita Nyong'o) and abuses her
with repeated rape. Envious of the attention her husband lavishes on Patsey,
Epps' wife Mary (Sarah Paulson) takes every opportunity to verbally and
physically assault her. For ten years, Solomon tries to survive despite being
frequently whipped by Epps, with the hopes of one day reuniting with his
family.
Adapted
for the screen by John Ridley from Solomon Northup's 1853 memoir of the same
name, Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" is a film that all
Americans, regardless of race or color, must see. This isn't the first 2013
film to deal with race relations but many of them, such as Brian Helgeland's
Jackie Robinson biopic "42" and Lee Daniels' largely fictionalized
"The Butler," feel too sanitized to make much of an impact. It
soft-sells the drama in a lame and obvious attempt to uplift the audience,
allowing them to pat themselves on the back on how far our country has come in
accomplishing racial equality. Yes, it is true that much progress has been made
and while Hollywood isn't afraid to explore America's shameful past, they never
truly capture its ugliness. This is probably done to avoid controversy.
"12 Years a Slave" is an ugly, brutal film that forcefully seizes the
audience's attention and has them bear witness to the dehumanizing effects of
slavery. The opening scene, a flash-forward, finds Solomon already a slave and
being ordered to cultivate cane. When he goes to sleep after a long day of
working on the field (in a cramped shack, no less), he makes eye contact with a
young woman named Anna (Ashley Dyke), who grabs Solomon's hand to her breast and
then slowly directs it beneath her dress. Out of pity, he pleasures her but the
release Anna feels is over within seconds. She turns away and silently cries,
not out of regret but out of the knowledge that she is back in hell. That is
what slavery was like for African Americans at the time: hell. This woman was
so desperate to feel alive, to not feel like an animal, even for a few seconds,
that she was willing to engage with a total stranger. For close to two hours,
McQueen will make you feel as debased and as drained of life as its lead
character.
In
many respects, "12 Years a Slave" is akin to a horror film. After the
title card, it flashes back to 1841, where Solomon leads an idyllic life with
his family as an accomplished and well-respected violinist in Saratoga Springs,
New York. A mere ten minutes later, Solomon wakes up in a dark jail cell.
Chained to the floor, he discovers that he is being sold into slavery. Combined
with Hans Zimmer's blaring, ominous score, the trip to New Orleans is something
out of a nightmare, with McQueen's camera zoomed-in on a bound-and-gagged slave
at one point. 'If you want to survive, do and say as little as possible. Tell
no one who you really are and tell no one that you can read and write,' warns Clemens
Ray (Chris Chalk), one of the slaves. Solomon is in complete shock and
disbelief upon hearing this. 'Days ago I was with my family, in my home. Now
you tell me all is lost. "Tell no one who I really am"? That's the way
to survive? Well, I don't want to survive, I want to live.' That hope, to live as a free human being once more and
reunite with his family, remains with Solomon despite being repeatedly beaten
down for over a decade. It's an incredibly moving journey, but one that is
frequently upsetting. This is what sets "12 Years a Slave" apart from
other films that have dealt with the same subject matter as McQueen is unafraid
to show the complete savagery of slavery even if it is graphically disturbing
to the viewer. This was an inhumane evil that America willingly allowed to
fester, and for all the progress we've made, our country continues to pay the
price for it almost 150 years later.
Sean
Bobbitt's gorgeous cinematography captures the beauty and tranquility of the
antebellum South, but it often stands in stark contrast to the brutality on
display, with McQueen having a penchant for lingering shots. He does this in
two of the film's most pivotal moments. The first one occurs an hour into the
film, with Solomon still under the ownership of William Ford, who treats him
with relative kindness given the circumstances. However, Ford's chief
carpenter, John Tibeats, is proudly racist and the one thing he doesn't like is
having his intelligence questioned. When Solomon presents a less expensive
solution to Ford for transporting timber, Tibeats is greatly offended and later
looks for an excuse to whip the slave. A defiant Solomon fights back instead
and beats the sniveling carpenter with his own whip. Looking to retaliate at
this 'injustice,' Tibeats and two of his lackeys string Solomon up in a noose
with the intention of hanging him but Chapin (J.D. Evermore), Ford's overseer,
stops them. He explains that since Ford is his master, only he can decide his
fate. Tibeats and his friends slink away but Chapin doesn't bother removing
Solomon from the noose and simply leaves him dangling on his toes while someone
fetches Ford. He stays there until dusk and during the entire time, McQueen's
camera remains still. Life on the plantation continues in the background and
although one slave does come to give him a sip of water, no one dares to rescue
him. This is the central metaphor in "12 Years a Slave," where
barbaric and unthinkable acts of cruelty were inflicted on human beings every
day yet no attempt was made to put an end to it. Slavery had become so
ingrained into American culture that the sight of a slave being hanged was
considered normal. This is the fact that our history books fail to make:
Slavery was normal, and that's not something you can just wipe away like it
never existed.
The
second pivotal shot is near the end of the film, right around the two hour
mark. A drunken Edwin Epps bursts onto the field yelling for Patsy but she is
nowhere to be found. It turns out she went to get a bar of soap for herself
from a nearby plantation, since Epps' wife refuses to allow her to bathe in an
attempt to spite her husband. Edwin believes Patsy was sleeping with the
plantation owner and punishes the girl by stripping off all her clothes and
tying her to a post to be whipped. However, Edwin is unable to bring himself to
do it and forces Solomon to do the whipping. The almost-five minute scene (shot
in one take) is unbearable to watch as Patsy screams in pain with each strike.
Out of frustration, Edwin takes over and by the time he's finished, Patsy's
back is nothing but a mutilated, bloody mess. Why does McQueen linger on such
violence? Solomon screams to Edwin that 'sooner or later, somewhere in the
course of eternal justice thou shalt answer for this sin' but he replies,
almost with pride, that 'there is no sin. A man does how he pleases with his
property.' In the eyes of their owners, slaves were not people and with each
strike, McQueen forces you to confront the systematic dehumanization of an
entire race. Solomon being ordered by Epps to do the whipping calls attention
to the self-loathing that many African Americans continue to face. Again, this
kind of racial trauma is something our history books fail to capture.
As
hard as it is to watch the film at times, the excellent performances from the
cast will keep you captivated. Chiwetel Ejiofor's graceful and sympathetic turn
as Solomon Northup stands as a perfect example of an Academy Award-worthy
performance, with the actor capturing his character's quiet determination and refusal
to become a victim despite his harsh circumstances. Michael Fassbender is just
as excellent with his frightening and volatile portrayal of Edwin Epps, by far one
of the most despicable characters to ever grace modern cinema. Fassbender is
paired with Sarah Paulson as his vindictive wife and together, the two make for
a convincingly reprehensible couple. However, the standout is Lupita Nyong'o's
devastating and heart-wrenching performance as Patsy, who is forced to endure nightly
rapes from her master while his wife physically and verbally abuses her at
every turn. When she tearfully begs Solomon to end her life, you'd wish he did
because at least she'll be at peace. The rest of the supporting cast is
brimming with talent, from Benedict Cumberbatch as a benign slave owner to Paul
Giamatti's greedy slave dealer. Paul Dano seems to have carved out a niche for
himself by playing sniveling characters while Alfre Woodard pops in briefly as
a former slave-turned-unlikely Southern belle. The only real misstep is Brad Pitt
as a Canadian laborer named Samuel Bass. While there's nothing wrong with
Pitt's performance, the actor's larger-than-life presence ends up being a
distraction. Fortunately, his role only amounts to an extended cameo.
Released
on October 18, 2013, "12 Years a Slave" has received overwhelmingly
positive reviews with 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted that it was 'far
from comfortable viewing, but [the film's] unflinchingly brutal look at
American slavery is also brilliant—and quite possibly essential—cinema.'
McQueen's film has already received numerous accolades and is guaranteed to be
major player at this year's Academy Awards. "12 Years a Slave" will
leave you emotionally drained and bring you to tears, and it accomplishes this
without resorting to false or overblown sentimentality. The film's power lies
in its matter-of-factness and for two hours, McQueen demands his audience to
confront America's greatest sin.
Final
Rating: 5 out of 5
"It
would be an unspeakable happiness to see my wife and my family again."
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