Steve McQueen’s latest film, “12 Years a Slave,” which was released Friday, explores the harsh reality of slavery without Quentin Tarantino’s over-the-top style or the politics of Lee Daniels’s “The Butler.”
“12 Years a Slave” follows New York free man Solomon Northrop. Two men approach Northrop to bring him to Washington, D.C., to play violin in a musical gig. Once in Washington, Northrop is kidnapped and sold back into slavery with almost no hope of seeing his family or freedom again.
McQueen’s poignant vision for the story is beautiful and shows throughout the film’s duration. From the careful amalgamation of music and film to the actors’ carefully delivered lines and the long, drawn-out shots throughout the film, McQueen successfully delivers a powerful narrative that brings universal truth to the silver screen.
Throughout the entire film, music plays a vital role and meticulously follows the ebbs and flows of the film’s dramatic arc. Winthrop is a violin player by trade, and the film’s composer keeps Winthrop’s musical background in the audience’s mind through the string-heavy orchestra that pervades the film. When Northrop is sent South on a boat to be sold, the music shifts to heavy, overbearing and drudging orchestration with deep percussion and low strings that drag the audience into the evil heart of the slave business.
Chiwetel Ejiofor (“Children of Men,” “American Gangster”) shines as Solomon Northrup and leads an all-star cast. Ejiofor’s performancegrips, and slowly draws the audience in as the film progresses. Ejiofor plays Northrop as a stoic, persistent and diligent man who understands the importance of waiting for the right moment to step out.
McQueen brings the audience into the reality of slavery through brutally long, unflinching shots. Scenes that involve slave whippings and hangings draw out extensively to allow the grave nature of torture to fully settle into the audience’s minds.
Many films feels the need to be overtly political and make a statement about society or the world-at-large. Sometimes political goals are appropriate, but in a time following polarizing films like “Django Unchained” and “The Butler” that brought their share of political controversy, McQueen uses “12 Years a Slave” to tell a moving story in a remarkably breathtaking manner.
With well-regarded director McQueen and a cast of actors that includes Brad Pitt, Paul Dano, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Giamotti and Michael Fassbender and producers like McQueen and Pitt, “12 Years a Slave” is a shoo-in for a Best Picture nomination come Oscar season.
“12 Years a Slave” does not make a statement as strong and political as “The Butler.” Rather, it is about the devastating reality of slavery, and the film displays these horrors with elegance, beauty and redemption.
