12 Years A Slave (2013) Movie tells us the story of a free black man. The name of the man was Solomon Northup. He suddenly was apprehended and was put to slavery. This movie created a buzz in the year 2013. Not only that, the movie managed to win Oscars for the Best Film category as well. I am sure you guys will cherish a film like this.
Well, we at Looped Stream watched the film for you. Here’s our version of 12 Years A Slave (2013) Movie Review. Here, we’ll talk about the plot of the film and whether the movie worked on multiple fronts or not. Let’s have an in-depth discussion, shall we?
12 Years A Slave Movie Plot
The movie is based on True events. One man stood up for his survival and freedom. It was during the pre-Civil War of United States. The name of that man was Solomon Northup (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor).
He was abducted from upstate New York. Later, he was sold for slavery. Michael Fassbender, who played the ruthless slave owner, put Northup through a lot. Northup struggled to stay alive for almost 12 years. In his last year as a slave, he met a Canadian abolitionist (played by Brad Pitt) will change his life forever.
Cast and Crew of the Film!
Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Michael K. Williams and more…
Director: Steve McQueen
Genre of Movie: Biography | Drama | History
Releasing Date: November 8, 2013
Runtime: 134 Minutes
Language: English
IMDb Ratings For Movie: 8.1
12 Years a Slave (2013) Movie Trailer
Movie Review by Looped Stream
We’d like to say it upfront. It’s not an easy movie to watch. Not for people with a moral compass, at least. Steve McQueen portrays a brutal, honest, and at times uncomfortable truth of USA’s formidable years. Certain people might feel this experience a bit unsettling. Also, very few of us like to take a peek into the darkest times of our country.
However, it’s good to take a look back to see how the darkest times were like. You know, sometimes people need to be put off guard just to understand what the subject matter of the film is. Steve McQueen did just that with 12 Years A Slave.
Well, this approach has it’s challenges as well. On this occasion, Steve McQueen ended up with some unusual comments on different races. True movie lovers will have to separate such comments from the actual movie itself.
We tried to do just that when writing our version of 12 Years a Slave (2014) Movie Review. We tried to remain impartial and truthful to the film. For us, the subject matter and the characterization of the film mattered. We won’t take such outside comments to account when giving you our take. Now that we’re done with giving you some backdrop, let’s jump into the review.
The Source Material
12 Years A Slave (2013) comes from an autobiography (no surprises there). Solomon Northup, a free man, penned the book in 1953. It depicts his life and struggles from the time he was nabbed and soled into slavery.
Hollywood has a bad reputation when adapting books and video games into movies. But not this one. Steve MacQueen left no stones unturned for the film. As you’d know from the following section, his direction was on point. The guy chose a perspective to direct the film and stuck with it. As audiences, we didn’t have any other way to look at it.
You’ll read this again and again: This flick will cause you to wince. Sometimes, you’ll want to turn your eyes away from the screen. Squirm, even. But you’ll not be able to. The adaptation will force you to look at the dark practices of plantation owners realistically. Most often than not, these practices aren’t spoken of. But people should speak of these things as a reminder.
We’re glad this particular movie did just that!
How Good is McQueen’s Direction?
We’ve got to be honest with you. The direction was “On Point.” McQueen held our attention through stunning camera movement. Be it through a still camera shot or a long take using precise movement, we see his genius at work.
McQueen didn’t let the viewers turn away even from the most gruesome scene on screen. In our collective opinions, this is perfect when depicting the crude and ugly nature of some of the roles and the actors portraying them.
We liked the cinematography as well. Nature, in contrast of the roles we see on the screen, is beautiful, scenic, and captivating.
Factors that Help elevate 12 Years A Slave Further (Background Music and Script)!
Hans Zimmer on the credits is enough to tell you a movie’s BGM will be a hit. This movie wasn’t an exception. For us, the background music was a character of the flick. You’ll feel the presence of the the music in places where it’ll boost the scene.
In some cases, Zimmer kept it subtle. Not too overbearing, at the same time… not absent either. Just enough to support the screenplay. We, at Looped Stream, felt it had just the right kick to keep the viewers emotionally on top of things.
The second factor was the script. Now, let us address the elephant in the room. Yes, at times, you’ll feel John Ridley’s writing dip a bit. Especially, near the middle part of the movie. We won’t deny that the slightest bit. However, the same script shines in places you need it to. As per McQueen’s direction, you’ll feel Ridley’s script came to life.
This guy will make you sympathize with certain characters of 12 Years a Slave. You’ll surely detest others. However, as we said, the script falls short of the mark a few times. We felt certain parts of the film is stretched. They could polish these scenes to make them better. In a captivating movie like this, you don’t want to take the sting off the point you’re making.
Whatever edge is lost due to the script being dull, the actors made up for it. We’ll get to that in the next part.
How Good are Chewete Ejiofor and Others in Their Roles?
‘Solomon,’ the character Chewetel played, was perfect. Trust us, this role was MADE for him. It’s emotionally taxing and physically challenging as well. And our guy pulled it off to perfection. We liked the transition he showed.
He’ll take you on a joyride with his happy-go-lucky attire, familyman-like attitude. In the very next scene, you’ll see him getting separated from his family, brutalized by men, and treated as a slave. Every moment, every expression portrayed to perfection. It is as if these are realtime events, happening to a person right before our eyes. In short, Chewetel did his part utmost justice.
Did the Supporting Cast Do Their Jobs?
For the most part, yes. Almost all of the supporting cast did the job to perfection. For example, there’s Michael Fassbender. This guy is utterly despicable on-screen. He’s volatile and abhorrent to say the least. This guy is brutal, absolutely barbaric towards Solomon. Trust us, you’ll shiver seeing the cruelty he displays as a plantation owner. Yup, the guy sells his part really well.
He’ll go onto playing a conflicting role in Macbeth in few years’ time. Hint: We reviewed Macbeth (2015) as well!
We have to mention Benedict Cumberbatch as well. Call him the perfect foil of Michael Fassbender if you will. He plays a ‘Gentler” version of Fassbender. He too, participates in the very slavery Fassbender does but the guy is not as cruel as Fassbender. At least, he has some sort of moral compass.
Avid movie loves are set to see a stunning performance from Lupita Nyongo as well. She is stellar in selling her bit as a girl stuck in adverse circumstances. No matter what she does, she is set on a losing course by her fate. She has grace, class, acting chops, and everything shows in her performance.
Negative Bits of the Film!
Well, you knew this was coming, didn’t you? Yes. we won’t be goody-two-shoes in our 12 Years a Slave (2013) Movie Review. In our rather esteemed (rhetorical joke) opinion, Paul Dano and Brad Pitt failed to impress.
Paul has is own brand of unique dialogue delivery that’s suitable for a particular brand of film (Wesman, cough! Cough!). Frankly, Dano’s role required a strong presence. Someone with a stronger voice perhaps. Paul Dano just wasn’t the right fit for the character. But an actor more experienced than him This movie had one, but his performance was mediocre at best.
Yes, we’re talking about Brad Pitt. You’ll see Brad with an “Amish” beard. And, an accent he tried desperately to be natural with. It sounded corny to us. During certain sequences, his lines felt deliberately made up.
Much of this falls on Ridley. We mean, he tried to give the audiences a “Summerized version of Morality” in the film. He wanted to decide certain things for the audiences. Like, how to feel and what to think in certain things. An ideal move in this scenario would’ve been to let the audiences decide for themselves!
What Do We Think of 12 Years A Slave Movie?
We’d not lie to you. We don’t think 12 Years A Slave (2013) is a masterpiece. Somethings “Do” hold it back from becoming one. However, this movie is brutally honest in depicting how slavery was like during the dark times. It pulls no punches in showing the effects of it on human minds and in society. At times, the scenes were gut-wrenching for us to watch.
This movie is all about one man. His journey through life and hardships. But.. in portraying it on the silverscreen, the director portrayed Southern part of America through a harsh lens. Everyone of us can agree that the portrayal was not quite true.
At the same time, this movie commends all of us on how far we’ve come since the dark times. For that alone, 12 Years A Slave deserves special recognition. It got just that in 2014 Oscars.
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