12 Years a Slave Review

12 Years a Slave is the true story of Solomon Northup, a freeman living in North America, who is kidnapped and sold into slavery. It tells the tale of his struggles and details his hardships through 12 years without freedom.

The film inspires and overall emotional response of sadness and pity. One scene in particular is quite close to the beginning when Northup has just woken up in captivity and upon denying that he is a slave he is brutally beaten. The viewer has a front on view of the excruciating expression on his face and the tears rolling down his eyes as the slave trader beats him until the large wooden plank breaks on his back. The angle of the camera puts the viewer into the position that they feel as if they could reach out to him, take his wrists and pull him from harms way. It transposes the helplessness of Northup onto the audience and intensifies their pity for him.

Throughout the film Northup prevails through many deeply upsetting experiences which many people would never be able to comprehend, let alone suffer through themselves. After Tibeats; the overseer on Ford's sugarcane plantation whips Northup for no reason at all bar his enjoyment, he breaks. Stealing the whip from the overseer he beats him in return. Tibeats catches up with him later and tries to hang him but he is saved from death by Chapin. However he is not liberated from pain. His saviour leaves him to hang there, barely able to breathe, teetering on his toes. Steve McQueen chooses to hold frame on an extreme wide of Northup hanging there for an uncomfortable length of time. He says "I want the audence to be there, to be present in real time" and his effect is created with brilliance. Once again the audience is overwhelmed with that helpless feeling for him, hoping that the torture will be ended, but as the sky begins to change from bright blue to sunset orange the realization arrives. The audience pities Northup more than ever for this undeserved torture that he has to go through.

One of the major strengths of the film is the juxtaposition and blending of godly and ungodly. One of the clear instances of this is where McQueen allows Tibeat's "Run Nigger Run" song to overlap with Ford preaching to his slaves from the bible. It is extremely powerful to hear a vicious voice whispering "Run nigger run well the pattyroller will get you Run nigger run well you better get away" with words of God being preached overtop. It creates quite a sickening effect and brings home the fact that slavery was so accepted in this day and age though as a modern audience we understand how wrong it was and is. This occurs again a bit later in the film, another sermon but this time coupled with the heart-wrenching tears of the slave Eliza who had her children sold away from her. The anguished cries rise up over Ford's voice. It is an exquisitely beautiful way to place the moments for Eliza's tears would be far less effective without the preaching underneath.

On the whole, 12 Years a Slave is effective in creating strong emotions for its audience by combining music, cinematography and brilliant performances all in one big ball of sadness. It is a film to be discussed for many years and worth watching for anyone who has not yet seen it.