12 Years a Slave (2013)
It is one thing to know the horrors of slavery and another to experience it.
Presentation:
Steve McQueen broke my heart with perhaps one of the most poignant slavery films of all time. The film is visually stunning shot on Cooke S4s for maximum clarity of the brutality. The color grading is also immaculate with beautiful teal tones while retaining black skin tones so vibrantly. From the first 3 scenes you’ll think it’s absolutely gorgeous, a rather unsettling feeling when the content is so horrific. This is juxtaposed with the experience that some scenes will have you thinking it’s the worst thing you’ve ever seen. Not that the film is bad, but due to the overwhelmingly brutal violence. At times it is hard to watch the borderline torture porn - you want to look away, want the film to end, but it doesn’t because it’s not that type of film. The story is a great retelling as well, very well paced and presented. The slavers are convincingly cruel and the slaves are truly pathetic. Chiwetel Ejiofor delivers a most conflicted performance, absolutely nailing the emotional perspective of the film. The film fortunately isn’t preachy about racism, it is ultimately Solomon Northup’s story and McQueen respects him enough to not twist it into anything political. If anything, he provides grace by showing a few compassionate slavers for some nuance.
Conclusion:
This is successfully one of the worst things I’ve ever watched. It likely is for African Americans what The Passion of the Christ is for christians. It’s an absolutely moving story that saddens you to the core - the only other time I had this feeling was when watching Schindler’s List. The fact that the picture is so clean makes it even more real. McQueen succeeds in everything he sets out to do and more by forcing us to confront the injustices of slavery. But it is not a political victim story with social commentary, rather one about resilience and dignity that makes it universally powerful. Gut wrenching and disturbing, it is one thing to know the horrors of slavery, yet another to experience it. And you do feel every strike of the whip. A film that can change your perspective on racial issues.
Recommendations
Thematic literature enters the ring.