Theatrical Release: 12 Years a Slave

Steve McQueen's third disturbing film, "12 Years a Slave," is now in theaters and is a must-see of this year. It's currently my second favorite film of the year after "Upstream Color," but it's a very close second. And really, the only reason why it's second is because (a) I would rather watch "Upstream Color" whereas it's hard to want to watch "12 Years a Slave" and (b) Brad Pitt's part in the film sticks out like a sore thumb in a film that feels impossibly authentic and organic.

The film is about a free man, Solomon Northrup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who is mistaken for a runaway slave and, consequently, sold into slavery. The film is weakly non-narrative. In the beginning we see Solomon as Platt (the name of the supposed runaway slave) working sugar cane fields. Within five minutes there's a very sad "sex" scene---one might have expected this from the "Shame" director---and then abruptly we cut to happier times: a decade earlier in Saratoga, New York where Solomon is a free man and violin player with wife and family. But after this introduction, there are no pleasures to follow. The entire film runs 2.5hrs and I cry in 15min intervals starting with the first 15min mark where Solomon receives brutal beatings for claiming he's not a slave from Georgia but a free man from Saratoga.

Many things are just plain perfect about the film. The acting, the cinematography, and story all come together fantastically to give a matter-of-fact yet emotionally taxing experience. Because these elements come together so well and don't rely on sappy music or melodramatic contrivances, the emotional impact is stronger. It is the saddest movie I have ever seen in my life. I have never cried so much in a film. And with each viewing, the tears don't let up but get worse. The cinematography by Sean Bobbitt is fantastic. Steve McQueen says it better than I ever could: the film is like a Goya painting. It shows brutal content, but the formal aspects of each image are stunningly beautiful. I fully agree. It's hard to say, but the most disturbing scenes in the film are also the most beautifully lit and carefully shot scenes in the film.

Perhaps the greatest formal aspect of the film, however, is not the cinematography but the fact that it is a one stop shop for Oscar nominees in various acting categories. Chiwetel Ejiofor should win for best actor. He definitely has competition with Tom Hanks's Captain Philips, but Ejiofor should win in my book. He is able to portray just as much emotion and thought merely through his eyes and face as Hanks. And, moreover, Ejiofor has to do it throughout the entire film rather than save it for the last 10mins (though there is a weep-inducing last 10mins in "12 Years a Slave" too, Ejiofor and Nyong'o claim our tears long before the end as well). One of the best scenes, which comes very near the end, combines the power of Ejiofor and Sean Bobbitt's skills seamlessly. Ejiofor's character stares off into the distance as he contemplates the possibility that his last chance for survival and renewed freedom will end in another betrayal. Then suddenly he stares directly into the camera. It's visceral, hair-raising stuff. And again, brings on the water-works. Another fantastic scene occurs when a group of slaves, Solomon included, comes across a group of Native Americans. One of the Native Americans plays a violin type instrument in the foreground, while we see Solomon contemplating the scene in the background.

Lupita Nyong'o should definitely win for best supporting actress. Her scenes are the most heart-wrenching. She plays Patsey, a slave who has unfortunately been the center of her slave owner's (Epps) sexual desire. Her dialogues with Solomon and Epps and her central part in, what might be called, the centerpiece of the film all induce uncontrollable tears. And it gets worse and worse for her during the last 45mins of the film of which she is a part. Even after unwillingly submitting to Epps, privileges are taken away rather than given. And speaking of Epps, the actor of our times, Michael Fassbender is superb as he always is in McQueen's films. He plays one of the worst human beings to ever walk this Earth, but one has to admire the commitment that is so obvious in Fassbender. He is utterly transfixing as the slave owner who takes pride in being known as the "slave-breaker."

The adapted script and music are also very well done. However, the music doesn't feel as essential in the end as it did in the frightening beginning when Solomon is being taken to The South, and the script, while keeping close to the original source, betrays at least one character (Pitt's) in the last 30mins. Some have said that this is Steve McQueen's most mainstream film out of "Hunger," "Shame," and "12 Years a Slave." I probably agree, but his art-house sensibility remains here. I am thinking of one sequence in particular where Solomon is hanging by his neck on his tip-toes for several silent hours of the day before his slave owner cuts him loose. This kind of sequence would never find a place in, say, a Spielberg film because in Spielbergy/mainstream films, viewers are controlled to feel a certain way by loud music and not made to look at disturbing images for longer than a few seconds. This film deserves and demands your attention. I recommend seeing it before it soon leaves theaters. Though you probably won't feel like returning to it anytime soon, it's worth putting yourself through.