Film review: a free man is tricked and sold into slavery in 12 Years a Slave

12 YEARS A SLAVE
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Lupita Nyong’o
Director: Steve McQueen
Category: IIB

Since it premiered last August, British video artist-turned-film director Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave has received more than 140 award nominations,100 prizes and critical kudos galore.

Nevertheless, many cinemagoers remain reluctant to check out this adaptation of Solomon Northup’s 1853 memoir recounting how he, a man born free and living comfortably in upstate New York, was kidnapped, sold into slavery and kept in bondage for a dozen terrible years.

Oft-stated reasons for this viewer hesitation are that the searing drama may be too harrowing, or that they’ve had enough on the slavery theme in the past year or so.

But precisely because it depicts a world which is considerably darker than that of, say, Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained or Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln,12 Years a Slave is one of those rare “must-watch” films. It also happens to be an extremely wellmade cinematic work that makes for captivating viewing.

“Your story, it is amazing and in no good way”, a sympathetic listener tells Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) at one point in this drama that – lest we forget – recounts real-life events. Having seen what has transpired until then, viewers will undoubtedly agree.