Comparing “12 Years a Slave” to something like “Schindler’s
List” is a warranted argument. They’re
both epic-feeling true accounts about horrible times in human history. Slavery
remains an atrocious and embarrassing stain on United States history and it’s
here we see the ugly truths unearthed, as if for the first time. There have
been plenty of depictions of this dark time but finally we have a motion
picture with the horrible – and sometimes graphic – truths mixed with a simple,
straightforward true story that will most likely appeal to a wider audience.
Many people balked at Steven Spielberg’s harrowing slavery drama “Amistad” not
so much for its brutal depictions, but for the film’s boring courtroom scenes
which grinded the narrative to an unfortunate halt. In “12 Years a Slave” we’re
presented with the true account of a free Black man from New York who was
kidnapped and sold into slavery in the 1800s and his twelve year struggle to
become the free man he always legally was. It’s unflinching and moving.
“12 Years a Slave” is directed by Steve McQueen who directed
Michael Fassbender as a sex addict in 2011’s brilliant drama “Shame.” Some of the images in “Shame” were pretty shocking, yet beautiful, and that’s no less
true here. Chiwetel Ejiofor is the real life Solomon Northup. Living a happy life
in Saratoga, NY in the 1840s, Solomon is married and has two children. He works
as violinist. He gets a potential job offer from two men who escort him to
Washington DC. There he’s drugged and kidnapped and taken to New Orleans where
he’s illegally sold into slavery. He’s first under the ownership of plantation
owner William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch) where his engineering skills make
fellow master John Tibeats (Paul Dano) extremely jealous and after threatening
his life, is sold to the film’s cruelest plantation owner Edwin Epps (Fassbender)
and his equally heartless wife Mary (Sarah Paulson). It is here that Solomon,
who’s forced to work under the new name Platt, faces his hardest times. Epps,
whose plantation is of the cotton variety, is a hopeless drunk and beats up
most of his slaves even when they do a good job. Patsey (Lupita Nyong'o – one to
watch out for in award season), a meek slave woman, who picks no less than 500
pounds of cotton is beaten nearly to death after acquiring a bar of soap to
wash up with.
This altogether moving film – which works mostly because we
know it’s based on a real life person – features some tremendous talents.
McQueen (who plays things a touch safer here than in "Shame") has a skilled eye and makes some rather beautiful compositions with
cinematographer Sean Bobbitt. Hans Zimmer who provides the melancholy score and
is miles away from his bombastic trademarks as heard in “Inception” and “TheDark Knight Rises.” Screenwriter John Ridley, who adapts Northup’s own book about his
own hardships, makes this movie not just for an African American audience but
for everyone. As a white person, I couldn’t feel farther removed from Solomon’s
troubles and yet I felt every emotion that he was going through. That’s due to
Ejiofor’s solid performance. The entire all-star cast including appearances by
Brad Pitt, Paul Giamatii, and Alfre Woodard does a great job no matter how
brief their role.
It’s difficult to make comparisons, but as two movies depicting
life as an African American, “12 Years a Slave” is leaps and bounds better than
this summer’s “The Butler.” That film felt like a sugar-coated look at life in
a post-slavery, pre-civil rights America. “12 Years a Slave” is so much more
honest, real, intense, potent, emotional, and ultimately more resonant. Even if both sort of feel like traditional "Oscar bait" this movie is worth biting. It’s also easy to be blindsided
by the text “based on a true story” but if anything else, this film is a
powerful and historically accurate portrayal of African American slavery. It’s
a film that will no doubt become a teaching tool in classrooms around the
country. And it’s a good thing too, because everyone should see it. GRADE: A-
4 comments:
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