2013: The Year in Film: "12 Years A Slave" Review

Sometimes the old idiom "truth is stranger than fiction" is absolutely, 100% true. The tale of Solomon Northrop, a free man and talented musician who was tricked, kidnapped, and sold into slavery, is by all accounts true, and offers a disturbing window into our nation's dark past. First a historical backdrop: after society became entrenched and indelibly 'American' on this side of the Atlantic, slavery took on an expressly racial form. Following the ban of the international slave trade passed by the U.S. and Britain in 1808, the only source of slaves for domestic slavers was the internal slave trade, which led to the development of huge markets throughout the south. This also led to a rise in price, which incentivized the kidnapping and selling into slavery of free black Americans. This practice was shockingly common, but given the legal structures in the antebellum south that were designed to preserve the individual property of slave owners against the rights of the slaves themselves, it could be incredibly difficult for a captured free person to prove their free status.  While Solomon Northrup managed to return to his family and freedom in the north, the fact that a relatively prominent man of means could be yanked from his life as an ordinary citizen underlies all that you need to know about the status of African Americans in the pre-Civil War U.S.

It speaks volumes on the still raw wound of slavery that what may be the most honest and definitive look at slavery on film should be directed by and starring men from England. Rising star Steve McQueen (Shame, Hunger) directs Chiwetel Ejiofor (still not sure how to pronounce his name, you guys) in a film that is simultaneously beautiful, disturbing, inspirational and haunting. Solomon Northrop was a musician, a husband, and a father in Saratoga, New York. He had been born free and lived his entire life as a free man. A chance meeting led to him traveling to Washington D.C. to perform, where he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the slave markets of New Orleans. The title explains the rest. Along the way, we are shown an intimate and complex glimpse into the realities of life for millions of Americans and that most evil of institutions.

The Good: the cinematography is tremendous and this film is simply gorgeous. Contrasting the natural beauty of the American south with the unnatural viciousness of the institution of slavery was, in a word, brilliant. Ejiofor (who I've always been a fan of) is a revelation as Northrop, who becomes known simply as "Platt", bringing a resonant humanity to the role, and a confident grace and dignity to the character. The absolutely stacked supporting cast is all very strong as well, with Benedict Cumberbatch (as the benign slaveowner Ford) and Michael Fassbender (as the vicious and unhinged slaveowner Epps) standing out, along with newcomer Lupita Nyong'o, who is simply spectacular as Epps' prized slave and rape victim Patsey. Fassbender is brilliant in his disturbing and tortured performance, and his Epps is a complex and layered picture of a brutal slaveowner. I don't think we've seen anything quite like it. This film really pulls no punches with its depictions of the innate inhumanity of slavery and the brutality that so often went along with owning human beings, while never feeling gratuitous. Northrop struggles to maintain his humanity, and his role as a relative outsider and newcomer allows us to learn the ins and outs of a slave's day to day existence without ever feeling like a simple exposition dump. Quite simply, the film is at once incredibly brutal and undeniably beautiful. Northrop's struggle to retain his humanity despite seemingly impossible odds is a powerful and inspiring one, and the depictions of the lives of the other slaves, especially Patsey, is simply heartbreaking.



The Bad: I really have one major complaint, and that's simply: Brad Pitt's character. I recognize that this is based on a book and a true story, and that the character that Brad Pitt played did help Solomon regain his freedom, but he simply isn't believable in the setting, mid-1850's Louisiana. He openly pontificates on the evils of slavery while on a plantation and engages in debates with a slaveowner about the inherent wrongness of the institution. Now, I don't know this for certain, but given that the south was willing to wage the most devastating war in US history over the continued survival of slavery, I'd wager that such a man wasn't likely to last long in the antebellum south. He seems like a total anachronism, embodying 21st century ideals in a 19th century setting, and it's really jarring.

Other than Brad Pitt playing a 2013 UN delegate who emerged from a time machine in 1853, this is, plain and simply, the best movie of the last year. It's undeniably powerful, emotionally jarring, incredibly brutal, and unapologetically honest in its depiction. It pulls no punches, and for that it is a crucial film. This film effectively combines art house visuals and sensibilities with the sentimentality of a Spielberg and world class acting. Solomon Northrop is a man worth remembering, and the honest truth of slavery and its indelible mark on American history should be out in the open. More than just a history lesson, though, this is a powerful, emotionally resonant film and should be required viewing for high school students everywhere. Bravo.

9.5/10.