12 Years a Slave

[skizzerflake]

We saw this tonight, and I have to admit that I am ambivalent. All the hype has it as greatest movie ever, certain Oscar winner, etc. It was excellently acted and the cinematography is vividly realistic and beautiful in its stark and violent way. The direction is firm, economical and to the point.

The story was adapted from the true story of a free black family man who was scammed and abducted by con-men who sold him into slavery in what was the worst of places to be a slave, a cane plantation in Louisiana. Somehow he survives 12 years of abuse before a Canadian guy manages to intervene someway that gets him freed. In short everything about the movie was right as far as it went.

What bothered me, however, was that the story is somewhat too much like a history lesson, a checklist of horrors intended to convince me that slavery is bad (not that I would deny that). As many bad things as can be squeezed into two and a half hours happens...one after the other. Being a history geek when I am not going to the movies, the story was quite familiar to me. A fair number of audience members seemed shocked enough that they had to leave the room during some of the more graphic sequences (it does NOT minimize the horrors). The shortcoming, however, is that the movie doesn't really go much past the awful things that happened to this unfortunate guy and his fellow slaves. I would have appreciated more consideration given to what it was about him that allowed him to survive his 12 years in hell and what it was about the slaves who were NOT rescued that allowed THEM to survive. The cavalcade of horrors is only half of the story.

[ashdoc]

A fair number of audience members seemed shocked enough that they had to leave the room during some of the more graphic sequences (it does NOT minimize the horrors).

Man...that's scary....:(

[ashdoc]

I guess it beats Django unchained by a long mile in graphic shots of slaves being treated brutally .

[skizzerflake]

I guess it beats Django unchained by a long mile in graphic shots of slaves being treated brutally .

Django is just a revenge movie that never really happened, kinda like Inglorious Bastards where they get to kill Hitler. 12 years is much closer to being real especially since it is based on a real story and the plantation goes on after Solomon Northup is released.

[Miss Vicky]

Django is just a revenge movie that never really happened, kinda like Inglorious Bastards where they get to kill Hitler. 12 years is much closer to being real especially since it is based on a real story and the plantation goes on after Solomon Northup is released.

Pretty sure that's not what happened in The Inglorious Bastards. ;)

[mark f]

In the movie they do. I'll give this new film a look, but so far I think McQueen is a crummy writer/director.

[Miss Vicky]

In the movie they do.

Do they? I haven't actually seen The Inglorious Bastards.

The comment and wink was in reference to the fact that the OP used the wrong movie title. (Tarantino's movie with dead Hitler is Inglourious Basterds, which I have seen, while The Inglorious Bastards was directed by Enzo G. Catellari and released in 1978)

[mark f]

OK. Damn Tarentenno. :)

[Mingusings]

I saw 12 Years a Slave a few days ago. I thought it was really good. I would have preferred more of an actual storyline rather than random events (which is what I thought the movie felt like), but I still really liked the film overall.

[Monkeypunch]

It's strange, I know this is one of those "must see" films, but I don't really want to. I know parts of history were horrifying, and I don't really want to spend 10-12 dollars and two hours of my time on a movie that will not be enjoyable. It seems like taking medicine rather than a nice night out at the cinema to me. I know that sounds awful, but it's just how I feel.

[skizzerflake]

It's strange, I know this is one of those "must see" films, but I don't really want to. I know parts of history were horrifying, and I don't really want to spend 10-12 dollars and two hours of my time on a movie that will not be enjoyable. It seems like taking medicine rather than a nice night out at the cinema to me. I know that sounds awful, but it's just how I feel.

That's how felt going in. My wife wanted to see it and I figured that we would go sooner or later and since there wasn't much else that interested me enough to do a counter-proposal, I decided to get it over with. I know enough about history, don't need to see that part of history for entertainment.

[Frankie]

I'm dying to see Chewy in a suit at the Oscars - I already know he can rock a dress and heels :randy:

[Brasstacksxx]

I read the book and the movie is almost totally inaccurate.This book was mandatory reading for all students who attended university in a former communist country.

[MovieBuffering]

What bothered me, however, was that the story is somewhat too much like a history lesson, a checklist of horrors intended to convince me that slavery is bad (not that I would deny that). As many bad things as can be squeezed into two and a half hours happens...one after the other. Being a history geek when I am not going to the movies, the story was quite familiar to me. A fair number of audience members seemed shocked enough that they had to leave the room during some of the more graphic sequences (it does NOT minimize the horrors). The shortcoming, however, is that the movie doesn't really go much past the awful things that happened to this unfortunate guy and his fellow slaves. I would have appreciated more consideration given to what it was about him that allowed him to survive his 12 years in hell and what it was about the slaves who were NOT rescued that allowed THEM to survive. The cavalcade of horrors is only half of the story.


I can see your beef with it just being a bunch of random events during his 12 years. But what really sucked me in was watching his soul get sucked out of him gradually. At first when he gets abducted wants to offer his talents and tell people his name. He was still a proud man. As the film wears on you can just see the life being sucked out of him as he keeps his head down and just tries too survive. Alot of parallels from people stuck in crappy jobs just trying to survive in today's age. (of course not to the extent of slavery that's just in a whole other ballpark of oppression) That was the most heart wrenching part of the movie watching the man become half of what he was.

But my favorite scene is when Fassenbender's character is quoting the bible on slavery. Quoting the passage which states if they don't obey their Lord (a.k.a him) they will be whipped. (I'd have to go back and watch it to get the right passage) Then he finishes with "that's scripture". haha sorry for the religious out there, I just did a flip of joy inside when I saw that scene because I despise the bible.

[Marcuskane]

12 Years A Slave is a fantastic movie and a lot of people will compare this to Django Unchained just cause it released a year earlier. With that being said, this movie shed light on what I could not stand about Django Unchained and that is that it made a light hearted situation of something that was an absolutely terrible era in history. It was a good movie for what it was but 12 Years A Slave made a lot of black slavery movies look like kid's movies in comparison. It's powerful, it's intense but overall, it's the movie that needs to be seen to get true perspective on or at least as close as we have possibly gotten to a slavery movie that refused to hold back in the sense of brutality and events slaves would have to endure on a daily basis

[OMEGA5]

It's pretty hard to boil 12 years down into 3 hours, and for that I think McQueen did an excellent job. This was a powerful movie and certain to win some major awards.

For Mark F: Have you seen Hunger? I can appreciate not liking a certain director/writer, but I appreciate the work McQueen has done.

[Daniel M]

Okay, just seen this. I thought it was good, but I really don't get what is so 'great' about it, I think it's because it has strong production values, everything looks realistic and some of the scenes are quite graphic, although not as graphic as I was expecting.

I agree with most of what Mark posted in the Movie Tab. This movie is supposed to represent 12 years of this man's life and it feels nothing like it? There's nothing really to indicate such a long period of time has taken place but for the title and end scene. Without that I would have guessed it would have been a year perhaps.

Once he leaves Benedict Cumberbatch's plantation it kind of goes down hill for me, I thought it was very strong before then. Michael Fassbender's character seems like he is purely created (I know... it's based on a book) and used to showcase how poorly slaves were treated, it gets repetitive after a while when its just abuse after abuse by the same character. Lupita Nyng'o is the character used to be on the receiving end of Fassbender's character's horrible treatment, and she does it very convincingly, I was impressed with her performance and would say that she displays suffering much great than Ejiofor who I didn't care about as much once he reached Fassbender's plantation.

The ending was good, but could have been better had we actually felt him suffering for 12 years better. I felt some of the earlier scenes were the best (not most enjoyable, but well done/effective) - his initial capturing, on the boat with Michael K. Williams, the guy getting freed after the boat journey, the fight between Ejiofor and Dano, and a lot of the scenes with Cumberbatch.

Little edit: Maybe I'm being too harsh, I dunno, it just wasn't as powerful as I think it could have been despite what everyone's saying, maybe if I saw it in better conditions I would enjoy it more, will have to watch it again in the future.

Probably give it 3

[Lucas]

Hmmm interesting take Daniel. I do agree that maybe the movie didn't quite show the passage of time efficiently, but I personally found the film extremely powerful nonetheless. I thought the acting was superb, the cinematography crisp, and I loved that the movie didn't lean towards sentimentality.I praise McQueen for not holding back when showing the horrors of slavery.

[Skepsis93]

It's a good point and I would say I agree, but it also doesn't take away from the film's power. It's powerful in a way that really sneaked up on me. The horrors that it depicts and the manner in which they are depicted had a sort of numbing effect, and it was only the brilliant, truthful and deeply felt outpouring of emotion of the final scene that made me realise how affecting the previous 2 hours had actually been.

[bluedeed]

I praise McQueen for not holding back when showing the horrors of slavery.

Showing the horrors of slavery is easy. What isn't easy is to show slavery in a light that doesn't make villains and heroes. The slaves are under the oppression of evil white people but are saved/helped by the good white people who listen to them kind of bit that summarizes most Hollywood films about slavery. That's not what institutionalized racism is. It lacks psychological depth and any level headed approach to the material.

[Upton]

If they're adapting the guy's own story and he was eventually freed by white northerner friends after getting word out through a sympathetic progressive type I don't see what else McQueen's supposed to do with that. Agreed the Brad Pitt speechifying was cringey, and there are other archetype characters like that in the film, but I can understand why they didn't have a whole lot of latitude. I'm not the biggest fan of 12YaS but I do think it had some not overly simple things to say about slavery that I've not seen in another movie before.

[ashdoc]

Ashdoc's review--

Southern United States in the first half of the 19th century---a stronghold of black slavery and of those who practice it.....

Northern United States in the same period---a part where slavery has been abolished....

The blacks in the northern part are are free men at least---though doubtlessly they still have to suffer some racism even in a free state like New York....
But above all , they still are under the shadow of being kidnapped by unscrupulous men to the south where slavery still exists and suffer the horror of their lives being changed from a life of dignity and freedom to one of unimaginable horror in an instant....

This film is based on the real life story of one of them---Solomon Northup , a musician by profession from Saratoga in the free north who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the south after being drugged and his identity papers stolen by men posing to require his services as musician .

Chiwetel Ejiofor has acted as Solomon Northup in this film ,and he has certainly brought the character of Northup alive on screen....

Also brought alive on screen is the well known fact that slavery is a fate worse than death....
Indeed as a black slave tries to save a black woman from being raped but is killed for that , another slave feels that he has been freed from the life of indignity and horror that the others are going to go through....

And that horror is accompanied by degradation and humiliation of both the mental and physical kind....

Scenes of a mother and her children being separated because both have been sold to separate slave owners and the mother bawling for her kids rend your heart....
But this is outclassed by some mind blowing callousness by her new owner's wife---'' Oh poor dear , you will soon forget them !! '' , she says ( or at least something like that )....

Female slaves are of course prey to the master's lust and get repeatedly raped....
And as if this is not enough they get insulted and ill treated by the master's wife who is jealous that her husband lusts for someone else....

Attempt of escape from this hell is punished by scourging with long whips that produce terrible wounds on the back....
But those who don't try to escape are scourged too anyway---as Solomon discovers when he impresses his master to the chagrin of his immediate boss who feels that the master favours Solomon over him and whips him savagely....His attempt to fight back nearly lands him in the noose....

The people involved in the slave trade are masters of cruel hypocrisy---the slaves are stripped naked for being shown to potential buyers and cruel haggling is done for money which will be used to buy up the entire lives of the victims....and all this while the sellers and buyers speak in super polite and correct english as if they are gentlemen....

But what takes the cake is the manner in which Christianity and God is used to justify slavery---masses are held by slave owners where they read the Bible in front of their slaves and verses are read which seemingly endorse slavery ; masses which the slaves are required to diligently attend....

As for myself , I stopped believing in God after seeing all this....

Solomon , who has been degraded to a new name ( Platt ) tries desperately to hold on to some shreds of dignity and hope amidst all this by trying to smuggle a letter to the north to bring out his true identity papers proving that he is in reality a free man....

And his only succor could come from some decent white men who believe slavery to be a wrong---yes , even in the south such men do exist....

So can he escape to freedom with or without their help ?? watch the movie for that....

To be honest it's an ordeal to watch this movie , for it's not easy to watch live human beings undergo what is nothing but torture....
But it should be remembered that this is no fiction , that real people had to live and endure lives like this---and for that purpose seeing this film is important....

But you require some spine to watch this film....

Acting by everyone is first class , and the only question is---how many Oscars will it win ??

Verdict---Good .

[Xui Wan]

12 Years a Slave was such a gritty movie, I think on some levels it speaks to a history that would be more favorable to over look, however it is something that is ever pressing as we as a society become more open to the uproar of all the various subjugated peoples of all ethnicities. We have become so blatantly blind to histories that are not told in a light that is respectful to that of the dominant societies.
As I watched this film in theater I had noticed my skin get hot as the anger well up inside of me, as the people a few seats behind me made obvious comments showing their disapproval for the movie.
I watched with the ever-present idea that this history is less than 100 years ago maybe not this story but the history of slavery was still present, this behavior was widely acceptable and maybe this is what would persuade me to want this movie to be viewed by everyone. I realize we all notice different aspects of a film, the lighting the storyline, the acting, etc.… however the fact that this movie did not seem to hold the romanticized under theme that most movies dealing with enslavement seem to hold, it really gripped my attention and brought me to such an ugly feeling of bitter disgust. I hope it wins all sorts of awards, for someone finally being brave enough to point at a history and show its ugly faced truth so we can finally move past all the niceties and maybe start looking at true healing, through cinema….
Kudos to Paul Giamatti, I genuinely hated him…

[Thursday Next]

I watched with the ever-present idea that this history is less than 100 years ago maybe not this story but the history of slavery was still present, this behavior was widely acceptable and maybe this is what would persuade me to want this movie to be viewed by everyone.


It's more than 150 years, not less than 100, but yes, the recentness of this history struck me as well. I think of other films or books set in the mid-nineteenth century and it's jarring to think that this was taking place at the same time.

[Xui Wan]

It's more than 150 years, not less than 100, but yes, the recentness of this history struck me as well. I think of other films or books set in the mid-nineteenth century and it's jarring to think that this was taking place at the same time.
yes, I was merely pointing out that the history is less than 100 years, not the story. Sorry for not being clear on that, however point being that there is a very pointed, harsh, truth that emerges much louder than any movies that have touched on slavery.

[Emily Thorne]

I haven't seen it yet, but looking at the reviews I will do it as soon as I have some time and will share with you my views.

[Jasper Monk]

12 Years A Slave - my review

An unflinching look at Slavery in 19th Century America, and the complete antidote to Tarantino's exploitation film Django Unchained (great, but very different). Steve McQueen opts for low level lighting and lingering shots which capture the sadistic cruelty of slavery in all its unholiness. It's not an easy picture to watch, but it's hard not to be fully engaged with Solomon's fate as he tries desperately to suppress his culture and previous learning in order to survive and find a way back to his life in the North. Despite its unhurried pace, the film somehow doesn't quite manage to convey the passage of time very well (it feels less than the 12 years indicated in the title) and Brad Pitt's appearance in the final Act seems a little jarring, but these are minor quibbles for such an engrossing film. 9/10

[likefilms]

I saw twelve years a slave some time ago, I found this film harrowing, not just the physical violence but how one human being could have such terrible power over another human being and exert it so casually. I was struck by how close the two worlds were: the slave quarters and the master’s house, I had always imagined the slave quarters as ‘out of sight out of mind’. It was difficult to imagine how the two could exist side by side normally we humans need distance to ignore wrong.

[mastermetal777]

It's a very insightful view into the shameful era of American slavery. It might not be 100% accurate in its history, but due to its powerful performances, phenomenal writing, and great direction all around, it more than makes up for the few instances of creative liberty. One of the best films I've seen in a long time.

[love]

i agree, the greatest movie ever

[love]

Based on an incredible true story of one man's fight for survival and freedom. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.

Facing cruelty (personified by a malevolent slave owner, portrayed by Michael Fassbender), as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon's chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist (Brad Pitt) will forever alter his life.

The best movie I watched so far...


Thoughts?