"12 Years a Slave" ~ Film Review

(From left) Epps, Patsy and Solomon before one of the most upsetting scenes in the film.

On the 26^th February, I walked into my Film Studies lesson at 9.10am, tired, grumpy and ill with a cold that just won’t budge. My teacher, Mr Britton, had put up some new posters since our Monday afternoon lesson, and as I walked in I spotted the official poster for Steve McQueen’s epic ’12 Years a Slave’ on the opposite wall.
Now, I’d been wanting to see ‘12 Years a Slave’ since it was released on the 10th January over here in England, but unfortunately had believed myself to be too late after having very little time, very little money and nobody seeming available to spend 136 minutes in a darkened room with me. I decided, however, just to check the listings for my local cinema in some hope that I could make a spontaneous decision to go and watch it, finally (I’m not against going to the cinema on my own, though thankfully my Mum was able to accompany me). Lo and behold, it was still in cinemas. I thank whatever light was shining on Newport’s Cineworld that day.

“12 Years a Slave”, if you didn’t know already, is a harrowing drama film directed by Steve McQueen, depicting the true story of Solomon Northup’s life based on his autobiographical book of the same name. The film starts in 1841, seeing Solomon go from free, happy musician to the kidnapped property of various slave owners, such as douchebag Edwin Epps.

 

Solomon, played by the phenomenal Chiwetel Ejiofor (a name I hadn’t heard before, but has previously appeared in ‘2012’ and ‘Salt’) was a free, black man living in the Antebellum United States (basically, before the Civil War). He had a wife and two children who we see leave him so that his wife can work to earn good money. Solomon is tricked into leaving for Washington with two men, Hamilton and Brown, who get him drunk before he is kidnapped unwittingly and sold into slavery. He is bought in a humiliating showroom, where the women stand naked with the children at their sides, by William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), who comes as kindly as a slave owner can come – he is also a part of one of the most uncomfortable, difficult scenes in the film, but more later.
Under Ford’s care, Solomon eventually falls out with the vindictive Tibeats (Paul Dano),  an employee of Ford's, while being very close to Ford himself - at one point he gives Solomon a violin as a gift (it seems that Cumbers has a thing for that instrument…). Ford is finally forced to sell Solomon onto another owner – anyone who will take him - just to keep him from Tibeats' bloodlust.
This introduces us to Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), who is a drunken, nasty piece of work, in angry denial of his love for one of his female slaves, Patsy (Lupita Nyong’o). This setting is probably where some of the worst scenes take place, but ultimately helps Solomon in his optimistic desire to be a free man again – helped by a cameo appearance from Brad Pitt, one of the producers of the movie.

I want to start by saying that Chiwetel Ejiofor is going to be everywhere soon. He is absolutely sensational, phenomenal and all of those other good ‘-al’ words too. One part that particularly touched me was when one of the slaves dies at Epps’ plantation, and the others join in an acapella performance of ‘Roll Jordan Roll’, which is on YouTube if you want to listen to it. It brought a tear to my eye, hearing Ejiofor’s deep, rich voice singing in heart-breaking sadness and empathy for those people in his position that weren’t so lucky.
Lupita Nyong’o is another actor who is destined for greatness. Her performance as Patsy was absolutely awe inspiring – as an actress myself, I can’t even imagine how difficult it was to perform some of the scenes she was given - especially the ones between her and Michael Fassbender, who was equally incredible, however evil his character is.

 One of the scenes that I had to look away from so many times, was the scene at Ford’s plantation where Tibeats attempts revenge on Solomon for outsmarting him (basically, being honest but pointing out the flaws of Tibeats). The infantile Tibeats and his partners take Solomon and lynch him, attempting to kill him, before they are reminded that he is Ford’s property and it would be dangerous to kill Solomon. They drop the rope to such a point where Solomon’s feet are just touching the ground, though if he slips… he’s dead. He is left there for days in the sun, scorching, as life continues behind him and the other slaves are unable to do anything about it.
Now, this wouldn’t be so harrowing to see, personally, if Steve McQueen wasn’t so bloody clever. The long shot remained watching Solomon’s weak body try to survive for about 5 minutes, the sound of his gargles and gasps for breath quiet but horrifying to hear, knowing that it actually happened. The lack of cuts and manipulation adds a sense of reality to the event, and helps the audience appreciate the truth about slavery and how torturous it really was.
Thankfully, Ford returns soon and cuts the rope, laying Solomon out in his house. He realises that he can’t stay as long as Tibeats is there baying for his blood, so he sells him on – leading to the touching scene as Solomon tries to explain to Ford that he was a free man, that he had a family. All Ford can say is that he ‘can’t hear this, I can’t listen to this’. It shows that however kind a slave owner can be, they are still seeing these people as their property, able to sell them like cattle.

I implore all of you to see it; it’s film of the year so far for me, and I think it will be successful at the Oscars this weekend provided it’s not a fix, as this masterpiece has already picked up the Best Actor BAFTA for Chiwetel’s performance, and the Best Film BAFTA. Never before have I left the cinema shaking, unable to speak for fear of crying, and utterly shocked and astounded into speechlessness at a film – not until “12 Years a Slave”. I watch a lot of films, and never has one left me so moved in my life. The whole theatre and its atmosphere were full of emotion; it’s the first time I’ve heard people’s reactions, also – people were sobbing, gasping, whispering ‘oh my gosh…’
I kind of... didn’t know what to say afterwards. I feel like nothing can describe the feeling you get when 30 odd people feel the same empathy for such an incredible - and, horrifyingly, true story. I walked into the foyer with my eyes vacant, unable to say a word to my mum until we were outside. I struggled even then, holding back these real overwhelming, choking tears. The saddest part for me? The fact that nobody knows how or where Solomon died, and how old he was. For such an inspiring man that did so much for the abolitionist movement, that killed me. My disbelief is all in the fact that it took a British, black director to tell even a snippet of the gut-wrenching truth of what the slaves faced in a film about such a prominent part of American history. Well done Steve McQueen; you’ve challenged everything I knew, and I applaud you for making this incredibly moving, brave film.

10/10, GO AND SEE IT!