Movie Review: 12 Years a Slave
With some notable exceptions, the acting in this movie is fantastic. Likely this film will garner tons of awards, and for the most part they would be well-deserved. However, I had a few misgivings.
Benedict’s performance is subtle as a haunted plantation owner who is in many ways just as trapped in his role as the slaves he owns. It’s so understated, in fact, that I fear he may be forgotten, buried under other supporting performances given more screentime or punch. But it’s very good, I was impressed by his accent, and he gives his character a multitude of layers. (Also, there is a violin!) I really wanted to see more, and he is one of only a handful of characters I can say that about in this movie: basically him and Solomon.
Speaking of Solomon Northrup, the lead, Chiwetel Ejiofor should have no problem clinching a Best Actor nomination and possible win as the lead. He successfully conveys the perspective of both insider and outsider to this system, the numb horror of his current situation as compared to his life as a free man with his family, the helplessness, the despair, the clever resourcefulness, and finally the hope still tinged with sadness.
Michael Fassbender as a psychopathic slaveowner should be nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Every scene he’s in is almost unbearably tense, a perfect example of how ultimate power corrupts absolutely. But there were some scenes where you could just see the edge of reason and possibly even humanity that he suppresses which made him intriguing.
I also think that Lupita Nyong’o will be at least nominated for a Best Supporting Actress in her role as Patsey, a “favorite” slave of Fassbender’s character, which makes her life even more unbelievably traumatic than it already was by garnering the hatred of Fassbender’s character’s sociopathic wife. Patsey was one of the most interesting characters to me because her situation is arguably the most tragic (repeated rape, repeated abuse and harassment and hard work just to stay alive), and yet she manages to find small pieces of happiness where she can-the scene where she makes little dolls was one of my favorites.
As for the other supporting actors: Paul Giamatti only ever seems to play Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano tackles the evil crazy well, if predictably, Sarah Paulson is creepy as the plantation owner’s wife who is just as stuck in her role as everyone else, and Alfre Woodard gives an intriguing cameo. Brad Pitt as a Canadian abolitionist was very poorly incorporated into the script, giving it a deux-ex-machina feel with some of the worst acting I’ve seen in a long time. A major let-down.
Nonetheless, despite all these performances, I felt this film was missing something crucial, though I can’t quite put my finger on what it was. Because for all that this story is incredibly sorrowful and disturbing (and even moreso because it’s based on a true story), I had difficulty actually feeling for the characters, seeing past the actors playing them. At very few times during the movie was I able to turn off my brain from feeling that this was a film and instead immerse myself in the actual story and think, “My God, this is a true horror story that actually happened to this man in this country, not so long ago.” I didn’t cry or even tear up, and I don’t think it’s because I’m a particularly cold person. As a Southerner, this story is particularly meaningful and shameful for me, revealing a history so distressing that it’s hard to believe that such horrific acts happened on land I grew up on.
Speaking of that, I thought the scenes in New York had too much of a utopian atmosphere (with the exception of one uncomfortable scene in a store). The scriptwriters seem to have fallen into the trap of believing (or just showing, but it amounts to the same thing) that just because slavery doesn’t exist in the state, institutionalized racism doesn’t exist either, whereas in reality, life for black people could be almost as difficult in the free states, just in a different way. New York has just as much capacity for evil as Louisiana.
I think perhaps part of the problem for me was in the actual title-the fact that horrific though his experiences are, Solomon does eventually escape slavery, does get to see his family again after twelve years. And, as the film points out in the ending credits, he was an anomaly, one of the lucky ones who got out. And there’s nothing he can do for the other slaves, like Patsey, whom he has to leave behind just as he was left behind by another rescued kidnap victim earlier in the film. The fact that Solomon’s nightmare had a set ending point made the film bearable to me, and something as agonizing as a portrayal of slavery shouldn’t be made bearable.
There’s nothing to be done about that because this was a true story, and though perhaps the screenplay could have been adapted better, the real problem, I think, is in the direction, cinematography, and use of music. I think if the filmmakers had incorporated more music instead of just a subtle theme, it would have been easier to become more emotionally invested. And the cinematography was frankly dull and obvious, censoring some of the more disturbing moments in favor of showing landscape or plants. I kept wishing someone more creative was behind the helm, though Quentin Tarantino also attempted to tackle a revenge fantasy version of this time period with limited success in Django Unchained.
Maybe I’m just too numbed by fantasy horror and violence to appreciate it when it’s based on something real. But for God’s sake, this is a film about human trafficking and kidnapping and enslavement, repeated rape and domestic torture, murder, betrayal, a broken law system, sociopathy on a grand scale, families being ripped apart, and a multitude of other sins. Even Benedict’s character, who was living in and economically benefiting from this system, felt he had to turn his back on the scale of human suffering once he made a decision to break up a mother and her children. It’s a horrible, gritty nightmare, and everyone knows it, and if you want us to believe the story, you need to show it like it was. Something like this shouldn’t feel so sanitized.
I went into this thinking it would clinch a Best Picture win, but now I think the other contenders have a much better chance.
Benedict’s performance is subtle as a haunted plantation owner who is in many ways just as trapped in his role as the slaves he owns. It’s so understated, in fact, that I fear he may be forgotten, buried under other supporting performances given more screentime or punch. But it’s very good, I was impressed by his accent, and he gives his character a multitude of layers. (Also, there is a violin!) I really wanted to see more, and he is one of only a handful of characters I can say that about in this movie: basically him and Solomon.
Speaking of Solomon Northrup, the lead, Chiwetel Ejiofor should have no problem clinching a Best Actor nomination and possible win as the lead. He successfully conveys the perspective of both insider and outsider to this system, the numb horror of his current situation as compared to his life as a free man with his family, the helplessness, the despair, the clever resourcefulness, and finally the hope still tinged with sadness.
Michael Fassbender as a psychopathic slaveowner should be nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Every scene he’s in is almost unbearably tense, a perfect example of how ultimate power corrupts absolutely. But there were some scenes where you could just see the edge of reason and possibly even humanity that he suppresses which made him intriguing.
I also think that Lupita Nyong’o will be at least nominated for a Best Supporting Actress in her role as Patsey, a “favorite” slave of Fassbender’s character, which makes her life even more unbelievably traumatic than it already was by garnering the hatred of Fassbender’s character’s sociopathic wife. Patsey was one of the most interesting characters to me because her situation is arguably the most tragic (repeated rape, repeated abuse and harassment and hard work just to stay alive), and yet she manages to find small pieces of happiness where she can-the scene where she makes little dolls was one of my favorites.
As for the other supporting actors: Paul Giamatti only ever seems to play Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano tackles the evil crazy well, if predictably, Sarah Paulson is creepy as the plantation owner’s wife who is just as stuck in her role as everyone else, and Alfre Woodard gives an intriguing cameo. Brad Pitt as a Canadian abolitionist was very poorly incorporated into the script, giving it a deux-ex-machina feel with some of the worst acting I’ve seen in a long time. A major let-down.
Nonetheless, despite all these performances, I felt this film was missing something crucial, though I can’t quite put my finger on what it was. Because for all that this story is incredibly sorrowful and disturbing (and even moreso because it’s based on a true story), I had difficulty actually feeling for the characters, seeing past the actors playing them. At very few times during the movie was I able to turn off my brain from feeling that this was a film and instead immerse myself in the actual story and think, “My God, this is a true horror story that actually happened to this man in this country, not so long ago.” I didn’t cry or even tear up, and I don’t think it’s because I’m a particularly cold person. As a Southerner, this story is particularly meaningful and shameful for me, revealing a history so distressing that it’s hard to believe that such horrific acts happened on land I grew up on.
Speaking of that, I thought the scenes in New York had too much of a utopian atmosphere (with the exception of one uncomfortable scene in a store). The scriptwriters seem to have fallen into the trap of believing (or just showing, but it amounts to the same thing) that just because slavery doesn’t exist in the state, institutionalized racism doesn’t exist either, whereas in reality, life for black people could be almost as difficult in the free states, just in a different way. New York has just as much capacity for evil as Louisiana.
I think perhaps part of the problem for me was in the actual title-the fact that horrific though his experiences are, Solomon does eventually escape slavery, does get to see his family again after twelve years. And, as the film points out in the ending credits, he was an anomaly, one of the lucky ones who got out. And there’s nothing he can do for the other slaves, like Patsey, whom he has to leave behind just as he was left behind by another rescued kidnap victim earlier in the film. The fact that Solomon’s nightmare had a set ending point made the film bearable to me, and something as agonizing as a portrayal of slavery shouldn’t be made bearable.
There’s nothing to be done about that because this was a true story, and though perhaps the screenplay could have been adapted better, the real problem, I think, is in the direction, cinematography, and use of music. I think if the filmmakers had incorporated more music instead of just a subtle theme, it would have been easier to become more emotionally invested. And the cinematography was frankly dull and obvious, censoring some of the more disturbing moments in favor of showing landscape or plants. I kept wishing someone more creative was behind the helm, though Quentin Tarantino also attempted to tackle a revenge fantasy version of this time period with limited success in Django Unchained.
Maybe I’m just too numbed by fantasy horror and violence to appreciate it when it’s based on something real. But for God’s sake, this is a film about human trafficking and kidnapping and enslavement, repeated rape and domestic torture, murder, betrayal, a broken law system, sociopathy on a grand scale, families being ripped apart, and a multitude of other sins. Even Benedict’s character, who was living in and economically benefiting from this system, felt he had to turn his back on the scale of human suffering once he made a decision to break up a mother and her children. It’s a horrible, gritty nightmare, and everyone knows it, and if you want us to believe the story, you need to show it like it was. Something like this shouldn’t feel so sanitized.
I went into this thinking it would clinch a Best Picture win, but now I think the other contenders have a much better chance.