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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.
12 Years a Slave
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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 .
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 .
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…
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…
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one cannot live without the other...
Ive tried and realized, theres something about you, something about your ways.... mwah
one cannot live without the other...
Ive tried and realized, theres something about you, something about your ways.... mwah
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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.
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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.
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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.
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
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
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.
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.
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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?
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?