I’ve been putting off seeing 12 Year’s A Slave for months. But I finally decided this was the time to see it and so I went into a surprisingly crowded local movie theater (the movie came out in October!). What followed was two hours and 13 minutes of unrelenting cruelty, beatings, whippings, and torture. Director Steve McQueen doesn’t sugar-coat slavery. All the brutality is shown. The sadistic overseers, the detached plantation owners, and the slave dealers display their contempt for the slaves. Solomon Northup (played brilliantly by Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a free African-American living in Saratoga Springs, New York. In 1841, he’s tricked by two visitors and sold into slavery. For the next 12 years every manner of cruelty befalls Solomon. The story is remarkable because Solomon manages to keep his sanity and survive. I find it hard to recommend this movie. My wife cannot bear watching extreme violence so she declined to see 12 Years A Slave. I’m sure there are plenty of people who would find these graphic depictions of slavery upsetting. But, of course, that’s the point of this movie. 12 Years A Slave will probably win the Oscar for BEST MOVIE. GRADE: A
Actually I thought, especially compared with the director’s previous work, that it was pretty restrained! I did have to look away a few times, but I suspect that is part of the point – it is very impressive and is bound to keep doing well in the awards season. Certainly a story that needs telling.
Sergio, I have to give a lot of credit to Brad Pitt for getting this movie made. Traditional Hollywood rejected this movie because of the violence and cruelty.
George, I watched the trailer and even planned on seeing it but I’m having second thoughts now. The older (and not necessarily wiser) I grow, the less I want to watch violence and horror. I’ll see it on television eventually. I may go for HER which, I think, you wrote about, or WINTER’S TALE, both of which are running in theatres.
Prashant, 12 YEARS A SLAVE is worth seeing but audiences need to be prepared for that’s going to be on that screen. HER is interesting especially with Scarlett Johansson’s voice. I read WINTER’S TALE years ago and consider it unfilmable.
I made it through 4o minutes before I walked out. I can see why it was like this–because that was the true story. A great movie perhaps but I will never watch it again
Patti, Diane knew she couldn’t watch all the abuse and rapes.
We feel like you, George. We’ve put it off until we’d seen all the other Oscar contenders. (We saw NEBRASKA yesterday.) But Jackie feels much like Diane and Patti and I never wanted to see it so we may skip it after all.
I found it a very powerful movie. Highly recommend it.
Prashant-Don’t see Winters Tale-one of the worst movies I’ve seen in recent years. I only saw it because it was a freebie.
Jeff, there are some horrific scenes in 12 YEARS A SLAVE. There’s a hanging scene that will haunt me until the end of my days.
Steve, I agree 12 YEARS A SLAVE is a powerful movie. But it isn’t for everyone.
I recognize that many fine films have been made about unpleasant subjects, but I continue to wonder why. I see it just won BAMFA Best Picture.
Both you and Sergio use the phrase “the point [of the film]”. I wonder, what IS the point? To make whitey feel guilty? To make blacks feel justified in revenge-thinking? To fill the screen with cruelty because it’s truth? The film isn’t really about the man so much as the culture, and we can all agree slavery and the attendant attitudes were awful But why shove it in our faces? I’d no more see this than watch people beat puppies with sticks.
Rick, 12 YEARS A SLAVE is based on the book Solomon Northrup had published in 1853. It’s a story of survival and persistence in the face of horrible cruelty. I admire the effort it took to bring 12 YEARS A SLAVE to a mass audience. But many in that audience are going to be horrified by what they see. I was.