By Brady Schaar | Echo
Painful topics, uncomfortable events, disturbing history: society has many ways it can attempt to deal with and understand these things. Film is one such medium, and few have tackled the topic of slavery with such honesty as director Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave."
Based on a true story, "12 Years a Slave" follows Solomon Northup, a free black man born in the North who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841. Held as a slave for 12 years (hence the title), Northup was freed in 1853. Yet the pain that Northup endured is unbearable, and the audience must bear witness to it in this stunning film.
Experiential cinema can often have the biggest impact on filmgoers, and "12 Years a Slave" does a stellar job at making the audience truly feel what it must have been like to be a slave. Rarely has there been a film that so intensely showcases the experience of slavery-but this film does, and it does it remarkably.
Amid the horrible images of brutality, McQueen is able to stage beautiful shots. In one standout sequence, Northup is nearly hung after fighting an overseer, yet the camera lingers as Northup tries to keep his toes on the ground to avoid choking to death. The other slaves go back to work, unable to help for fear of repercussions. All that is heard are the sounds of the mud beneath Northup's toes and his shallow, labored breathing as he fights for life. The effect is gripping.
McQueen, along with cinematographer Sean Bobbitt, gives us gorgeous set shots, but it's the actors that truly make this a masterpiece. Chiwetel Ejiofor's leading turn as Solomon Northup is commanding. The slow decay of his willpower is torturous to watch, yet Ejiofor sells it masterfully. Michael Fassbender gives a terrifying and mesmerizing impression as cruel plantation owner Edwin Epps, showing how truly evil slavery can be.
But the true standout performance is from newcomer Lupita Nyong'o as Patsey, a fellow slave who becomes the object of Epps' desire. Her pain is extraordinary, and Nyong'o is truly fantastic at selling the role. Her side story culminates in a gut-wrenching sequence that is among the most painful and brutal ever committed to the screen.
This film does an extraordinary job with the principle of showing, not telling. For 150 years, the horrors of slavery and the pain it inflicted upon this nation have been written about and explained. With this film, the horrors and the pain become fully visible.
There hasn't been a film in a long time that is more more meaningful or more essential than "12 Years a Slave." It's painful, brutal, extraordinary yet necessary. Its name will be called out numerous times before the end of the awards season.
