I have never seen such an intense depiction of slavery in my life. It's so incredibly horrible, you can't help but not look away. This tells the real life story of Solomon Northup, a black man who was born a free man during a pre-civil war America. A noteworthy violinist, he is conned by some trusted colleagues into leaving his home and traveling South to Washington D.C. for a performance. After the performance, they go out for a celebration where his colleagues get him drunk and he is subsequently kidnapped by slave auctioneers and sold into slavery. And being the time period that it is, no one believes him when he claims who he really is.
Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Solomon Northup in arguably his most significant role to date. Directed by Steve McQueen (No, not that Steve McQueen), together they show the brutal, terrible truth of slavery in all of the awful, cringeworthy details. Rather than cut away from inhumane acts, McQueen forces you to watch the actions taking place in long, uncut takes making you feel as emotionally, physically and mentally drained as possible without actually putting you in the characters shoes (or lack thereof).
This was, without a doubt, the most stressful
time I've ever had watching a movie
With amazing performances by the entire cast, "12 Years a Slave" has by far one of the best ensemble casts of 2013. With such big names as Michael Fassbender, Paul Dano, Benedict Cumberbatch, Garret Dillahunt, Paul Giamatti, Michael K. Williams, Scooty McNairy and very randomly, Taran Killam from "SNL", each and every actor gives a fantastic performance worthy of the recognition they're obtaining. "12 Years a Slave" is well worth a watch. But be prepared for a stomach churning story.
My Grade: A
No comments:
Post a Comment