12 Years A Slave

12 Years A Slave, the latest film from accomplished director Steve McQueen is a disturbing, brutal, and in-depth look at the horror and the atrocities of slavery here in America. It's hard to watch at times, but the film itself is spectacular and I applaud Mr. McQueen on choosing to tackle a subject many here would like to ignore and if possible forget altogether. For all it's wonders and sadness, I give 12 Years A Slave four buckets of Killer Korn.










Going in, I prepared myself for what was to come. I steadied and steeled myself for what I was about to see on screen, and I fear I may have done myself a disservice by doing so. I walled myself up so much that what I saw regarding Solomon Northrup's journey from free man in Saratoga NY to the plantations in the bowels of Georgia didn't quite strike that emotional chord hard within me. Starring that magnificent Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon, this movie struck me as almost a documentary and not a drama, and it could have been the latter. Based off of Solomon's book of the same title, screenwriter John Ridley did his best to turn the book into something worth seeing. It was an amazing job.

12 Years chronicles Solomon's fight to regain his freedom any way he can, however he can and that means staying alive. He is determined to do so even if that means turning on his fellow slaves. Solomon is lured from the cozy, warm confines of Saratoga to Washington D.C. by the prospects of employment. His fiddle playing is second to none and two men who run a circus beseeched him to play for their show. Once in D.C. and after a very successful week, the two men drug Solomon and sell him to slavers. From there he is transported south and his life is never the same again. Many scenes in this movie resonated with me but none like the scene where Solomon has been sent to the market but decides it's time to run. He takes off and right when he is about to hit his stride, he runs straight into a lynching party. It was at that moment when Solomon realized that there was no place safe for him to run to, and there was no place safe for him to hide.

The cast of this film was an impressive one. Alongside Chiwetel starred Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael K. Williams, Paul Giamatti (who I may never look at the same again), Paul Dano, Lupita Nyong'o, Alfre Woodard, Brad Pitt, Liza J. Bennett, and Michael Fassbinder who was simply electric. It's an impressive collection of talent and I am certain Steve was approached by most of the actors to be in the movie, I doubt he had to chase any of them down and beg them to take a role. I find it somewhat shameful that it took an Englishman to tackle the subject matter of slavery in a realistic manner and not the Django way, but honestly I am just pleased it was made at all.

Shot on location in Louisiana by cinematographer Sean Bobbitt, he captured the brutal beauty and danger in such a way it almost felt like you were there. Scored by the equally talented Hans Zimmer, the music was subtle, barely there and yet when it played, it was perfect. This film really didn't need a score and I think Hans recognized that and brought a light musical touch to such a heavy film. 12 Years A Slave is not necessarily an entertaining film, it's more like an educational one, and one in my opinion that everyone should see. Primarily the youth who seemed to have forgotten what their ancestors endured and what the struggle is still all about today, dignity. I'll see you at the theater.