12 Years a Slave Reviews

Summary In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man living in upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.

• Biography

• Drama

• History

12 Years a Slave isn’t easy to watch, and it shouldn’t be; it’s one man’s tragedy, but it’s also the tragedy of countless thousands of souls beaten down, literally and metaphorically.

Ultimately hopeful, but uncompromising in its commitment to exposing a tragic chapter in history.

This movie is incredible disturbing and thought provoking. I think every white person should watch this movie for some context of American Slavery.

Chiwetel Ejiofor is so impressive in this incredibly intense, visceral film. (When it ended, nobody in my theater moved for a period of time, and there was no round of applause mostly, it seemed, because of the shock of it all. Clapping didn’t seem like the right thing to do.) The fact that we experience the story from the perspective of a kidnapped free man makes the film instantly relatable. I was so happy to have watched all of Tom Fontana’s excellent “Copper” which features an African American civil war veteran doctor living in New York, and all of his family’s struggles in Five Points. Solomon, a New Yorker kidnapped from Washington DC, could be any of us. The Southern landscape as it likely existed in those days provides such a beautiful-yet- eerie backdrop to this movie. What I particularly appreciate the fact that all the shots are confined you never see very far into the distance. There’s never any perspective on things. When the boat transporting the kidnapped south moves, you see the paddlewheels. On the plantations, you see the three or four acres where the slaves live. You never get any aerial shots, which is so effective in giving you a disoriented, lost feel. Even if Solomon wants to escape, he has no idea where the hell he is, and neither do we. The acting in general is uniformly excellent. Fassbender? Wow. Not since Ralph Fiennes in Schindler’s List has an actor put out so completely for the detestable guy role and to such great effect I cried... Several times. I think it is very appropriate to start my review by saying those words. In an age where showing our emotion in public is apparently a taboo. Needless to say, apart from a few heartless sods, I was not the only one who left the local theatre wiping tears from my cheeks. Putting it simply, 12 Years A Slave is superb. The way I see it, this should become the staple period-piece film. It is a film that shows us a dark, visceral story of a point in time that the American government would much rather sweep under the rug. It is a triumphant story of loss and despair, but also of remarkable perseverance and resolve. The simplicity of the plot leaves the weight of its success on the individual scenes and phenomenal writing. The great cast and setting meld together perfectly. In a year of phenomenal films, 12 Years A Slave comes out on par with many others, if not slightly above. I hope that in a few years, this might be the film that is shown in history classes. It is not something that should be watched for the sake of the film, it is something that has to be watched because of the horrific times which its characters live in.

Well-meaning films like “Lincoln’’ and “Lee Daniels’ The Butler’’ merely scratch the surface compared to the deep and painful truths laid bare by 12 Years a Slave. It’s about time, Scarlett O’Hara.

The genius of 12 Years a Slave is its insistence on banal evil, and on terror, that seeped into souls, bound bodies and reaped an enduring, terrible price.

Though the film brims with memorable characters, the show ultimately belongs to Ejiofor, who upholds the character’s dignity throughout.

Ejiofor’s tightly clenched conviction perfectly embodies hope and righteousness against all odds. He gives the best performance of his career to date, and what’s more, he gives “Slave” its bruised, beating heart with every scene.

Steve McQueen's film practically treats Solomon Norhtup as passive observer to a litany of horrors that exist primarily for our own education.

um dos melhores filmes que ja assisti, um classico do cinema, excelente em todos os aspectos

Very gut wrenching at times, unfortunately the character development is lack luster and the movie is totally boring and too slowly paced.

I get it. Slavery was/is bad. But this movie lays it on too thick. Maybe all the high scores are from masochists. For the most part, good performances. Good cinematography also. Downside, long scenes of nothing (filler). The ending was also very unsatisfying. They should have extended the movie instead of listing captions at the end. Not a gratifying ending with all things considered but still a better one than we were given.

About 15 minutes into the movie, I knew what to expect. Bad acting was very apparent. McQueen (who is british btw) made this movie to provoke a cheap emotional response which is unlined by his own political/social opinions. Just a pandering movie to liberal minded audiences who just love to put racism against blacks in the highlight.

Ce film est vraiment bizarre : il montre avec un certain recul, presque une neutralité (d'ailleurs bienvenue) les horreurs de l'esclavage tout en évitant un pathos excessif et lourdaud comme on peut souvent en trouver à Hollywood dont on sait la propension à faire couiner les violons au moindre prétexte dramatique. En même temps, il s'appesantit souvent dans le tire-larmes de bas étage mais sans jamais réussir à nous tirer une larme, car la détresse nous apparaît trop éloignée, trop floue et superficielle. Et trop scolaire également. C'est naturellement très paradoxal comme impression et cela nous chiffonne à dire vrai pendant tout le film jusqu'à la fin qui peine aussi à nous émouvoir, trop expédiée et bricolée à la va-vite. Sans doute le livre de la victime, de ce miraculé est-il plus à même de restituer l'enfer vécu que cette adaptation qui souffle le chaud et le froid. Et pourtant, quelques scènes sonnent juste et la réalisation très travaillée est assurément élégante. Hélas, cette élégance devient trop souvent maniérée et si statique qu'elle semble engluée littéralement dans la mélasse du film intello qui tient à dispenser son message comme un forcené... alors qu'en fait il se regarde le nombril à intervalles réguliers pendant de longues minutes. Ce qui m'amène au gros problème de rythme du film, soient deux heures et quart qui en paraissent quatre... un double problème puisque le rythme fictif en pâtit aussi : on ne ressent pas le moins du monde ces douze années terribles qui font l'effet de douze mois, tout au plus. Un comble. En outre, la musique de Hans Zimmer qui recycle éhontément ses vieux thèmes d'Inception est assez énervante : est-ce qu'on ne va pas voir une toupie à la fin ? est-ce que tout cela est "vrai" ? nous voilà donc aux antipodes des intentions du réalisateur, j'imagine. Dommage donc, car le début laissait augurer beaucoup mieux. Il reste tout de même quelques séquences qui font mouche et le jeu de Fassbender en véritable état de grâce mais 12 Years loupe le coche.

Academy Awards, USA

• 3 Wins & 9 Nominations

Golden Globes, USA

• 1 Win & 7 Nominations

Online Film & Television Association

• 8 Wins & 20 Nominations