12 Years a Slave
2013
****
Director: Steve McQueen
Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Lupita Nyong'o, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt, Alfre Woodard, Adepero Oduye
In 1841, Solomon Northup, a free and educated black man from New York state, is kidnapped and sold as a slave to Louisiana. He spends the next 12 years stripped of his name, family, freedom, and human dignity. Steve McQueen's film, which is based on the man's memoir, is an unflinching first-hand depiction of slavery, one of the most shameful periods in the US history. It's a beautifully staged, consistently heartbreaking, and - I do not mean to sound disrespectful - somewhat predictable drama in which Solomon's fate under three different white owners (portrayed as either saints or monsters) goes from bad to worse. The performances are excellent across the board. Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon carries most of the weight with his wonderfully subtle work, and Lupita Nyong'o strong big screen debut as the tragic Patsey earned her an Oscar. The picture and the adapted screenplay by John Ridley also picked up Academy Awards.
