12 YEARS A SLAVE (2014) – Movie Review ★★★★½

12 Years a Slave stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Lupita Nyong’o, Sarah Paulson and Brad Pitt – Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Solomon Northup a free black man from upstate New York who is tricked by two con men, abducted and sold into slavery and sent to New Orleans – the film is based on a memoir written in 1853 by Northup himself and brought to the screen by the director of Shame Steve McQueen. VERDICT the last time I felt this appalled at the cruelty of my fellow human whilst watching a movie was Spielberg’s Schindler’s List – McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave is one of those rare films that through all the heartbreak and unimaginable horror that’s taking place on screen, you find yourself submerged in the characters & unable to avert your eyes from it – unlike Tarantino’s dark humored Django Unchained, McQueen’s movie about American Slavery has nothing to smile about, it’s brutal, uncompromising and delivers an intense powerful history lesson to those who may have forgotten our past – along with a haunting soundtrack by Gladiator’s Hans Zimmer and a well worked script by U-Turn’s John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave is a picture driven by some courageous actors giving staggering performances, the likes of Chiwetel Ejiofor playing the lead of Solomon Northup, a family man snatched and sold into slavery, Michael Fassbender who plays Edwin Epps, a cruel plantation owner who whips and sexually abuses his slaves, and Lupita Nyong’o making her feature movie debut playing Patsey – McQueen uses his directing trait of intimate camera shots, taking the viewer as close to the action as possible, you almost feel the blood spraying from the backs of the victims as they are whipped and in some of the movie’s scenes you feel like you’re watching it all in slow motion, the camera pauses almost admiring it’s shot, a fine example of this is when when Northup is hung from a tree, his feet barley touching the floor, everything is going on about him whilst he struggles with every breath to stay alive – it’s great film-making allowing the viewer to feel the intimacy & at times suffocation of that particular scene, a technique all too evident in McQueen’s previous 2 pictures behind the camera – if I was being slightly negative I would have increased the movies run time slightly but overall 12 Years a Slave is Steve McQueen’s masterpiece, a beautifully shot, uncomfortable to watch epic and one that should be watched by all….