12 Years a Slave (2013)
Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, Sarah Paulson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Scoot McNairy, Taran Kiliam, Garret Dillahunt, Paul Giamatti, Alfre Woodard, and Brad Pitt
Directed by Steve McQueen
Director Steve McQueen is fairly new to the feature film scene, but his fantastic 2011 flick
Shame put him onto my radar so I came to
12 Years a Slave with high expectations. McQueen absolutely has an eye behind the camera that I find interesting, but this film lacks a tiny bit of drive to push the story along which knocks the otherwise well-done film down a notch or two.
Based on a true story, 12 Years a Slave tells the tale of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a freed black man living quite well in New York in the 1840s with his wife and two children by his side. A musician by trade, Solomon is approached by two men (Scoot McNairy and Taran Kiliam) who desire to hire him to play music on tour with their traveling circus. Solomon agrees and travels to Washington, D.C., where the two men wine and dine him one night to the point of Solomon getting drunk and passing out. The next thing Solomon knows, he's chained in a dark room and his two new "employers" are nowhere to be found. Solomon quickly comes to the realization that he was drugged and, despite his pleas, he is sold into slavery and shipped down to New Orleans where he's given the new name of "Platt" to try and conceal the fact that he was ever a free man.
The film then follows Solomon through a series of owners. The first, William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), is a good man who recognizes the intelligence and education of Solomon. Despite Ford's kindness, Solomon still finds himself working the field under the watchful eye of the nasty John Tibeats (Paul Dano) who resents the fact that Solomon is so respected by Ford. Eventually, things get to such a boiling point between Solomon and Tibeats that Ford decides he must sell Solomon in order to keep unity amongst the slaves and the ownership. Unfortunately for Solomon, his new owner Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender) isn't nearly as benevolent as Ford. Epps, who owns a cotton plantation, could care less about Solomon's education -- he only wants to know how much cotton he can pick in a day. Adding to the tension, the married Epps is having an affair (however one-sided it is) with female slave Patsey (Lupita Nyong'o) which doesn't sit too well with Epps' wife (Sarah Paulson) and causes moments of chaos on the plantation.
I fully understand that this is a true story of a horrific journey of one man's life -- so who am I to knock it. I will say, however, that the episodic nature of the tale -- as evidenced by the summary above -- does make the film feel a little disjointed and doesn't quite allow it to ever gain a driving momentum. Once we finally get to the climax of one tale (the Ford chapter, as an example), we're sent to the next segment where we essentially have to start things all over again. It's not as if either story isn't worth telling -- they certainly show the varied lives slaves may have endured in the 19th century -- but the screenplay by John Ridley, while good, doesn't quite succeed at keeping the story moving at a typical movie's pace. Then again, maybe it's this screenplay's slow pace that attracted Steve McQueen to the project. Many would say his previous film Shame had that same methodical tone to it and I wouldn't necessarily argue with them. Shame was telling one story, however, whereas 12 Years a Slave almost feels as if it's telling two or three.
Still, despite my qualms, I don't want my criticism in any way to make it seem as if I didn't like the film. This certainly is not a chore to sit through and I found the story rather fascinating in that Solomon Northup's tale of a free man being resold into slavery is something I'm not quite sure we've ever seen captured on film before. McQueen doesn't shy away from the hardships slaves faced on a daily basis and the director seals his status as a filmmaker to watch with an incredibly long and unceasingly uncomfortable single-take scene towards the film's end of a brutal beating. Although this long take filled me with an uneasy dread, I was fascinated by McQueen's technique, forcing the viewer to "stay with" the scene never allowing us to turn away to get a respite from the horrors endured by some African Americans in the 19th century.
There's an understated demeanor to Chiwetel Ejiofor's performance that endears him to the audience. Behind his eyes, you can always see the longing to return home to his wife and children, but the fear that it may never happen. Ejiofor gives a strength to Solomon that is admirable and is a commanding presence despite the character's oftentimes repressed nature. Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Fassbender are two of today's most talked about actors and here they're playing complete opposite sides of the spectrum in slave owners Ford and Epps. The audience immediately admires Ford's humanity which stands in stark contrast to the bitter anger that permeates seemingly through the pores of Epps. Fassbender is at his best in scenes involving Sarah Paulson as his wife and newcomer Lupita Nyong'o as his lover. Fassbender excels at radiating jealousy and he's near perfect at playing such a nasty guy. However, Paulson and Nyong'o are equally as good at playing the two women he loves. Paulson's bitterness is spot-on (albeit incredibly nasty) and Nyong'o's pain at being forced to accept being raped on a regular basis is absolutely painful. I will say (and this harkens back to the screenplay's problems a tad), I wish Nyong'o had a little more to do. This actress is certainly forced to run the spectrum of emotions (brutally so, at times) and I realize this is Solomon's story, but I wanted a little more depth for Nyong'o to sink her teeth into.
12 Years a Slave isn't an easy watch, but it certainly illustrates a point in our history that needs to be remembered and explored. I'm happy that Solomon Northup's bittersweet tale has been told and it's a film that's so close to being great, but misses the mark a tiny bit in just a few key areas.
The RyMickey Rating: B+
