Slavery is an unsettling part of Americana most people like to sweep under the rug. Until recently, the horrors of the institution were relegated to books, radio, and the Roots special in the 70s. Thanks to Django Unchained, more movies are coming out showcasing for the viewer just how despondent slavery leaves the imprisoned physically, emotionally, and mentally. 12 Years a Slave takes the progress Django started and amplifies the distress and hopelessness of the situation. Director Steve McQueen pulls no punches with his story of Solomon Northrup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man who ended up in slavery from 1841 to 1853.
Solomon was actually a very successful black man for the time: well-traveled and fully literate. After taking an opportunity to go to DC as a fiddler for a circus, Solomon gets drugged and sold into slavery in the Deep South. Solomon starts off under kindly owner Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch) who recognizes Solomon’s intelligence and ingenuity. This show of favoritism draws the ire of the slave driver Tibeats (Paul Dano) who puts a threat on Solomon’s life. Ford transfers Solomon to the Epps (Michael Fassbender and Sarah Paulson) plantation, which is close to hell on earth. Epps is unhinged, convinced that slaves are his property so he can do what he wants to them. He takes fancy with a young slave Patsey (Lupita Nyong’o), drawing the ire of his wife which drives him to attack any black person nearby. Solomon must use his intelligence and resolve to keep out of trouble long enough to find a way to contact his friend’s home to save him from his personal purgatory.
The depiction of the day-to-day lives of the slaves during punishment make 12 Years a Slave stand out most. Director Steve McQueen has a long take with a slave being hung just enough off the ground that he has to use his toes to move around. What makes the scene so terrifying is how none of the slave’s companions come to help him; the slave drivers have instilled so much fear in retribution that the slaves can only offer a dashing bit of water to their friend and that’s it. In the background of most of the punishments, you see people scurrying about but unable to help out of fear. As a result, mental and physical fatigue/helplessness just seep into every pore of your being until you just become numb to all the pain around you. Then add on top the emotionally volatile plantation owner and his cold wife, and you stop feeling like a person. 12 Years a Slave does a fantastic job showing just how dehumanizing slavery can make an entire race feel.
Solomon’s intelligence is used in unexpected but believable ways in 12 Years a Slave. He gains favor and avoiding field work by using his fiddling skills. When moving logs, he uses his canal experience to show how the waterways are faster than lugging over terrain. He hides his intelligence when tested by the plantation owners by admitting he knows some words, but not all of them, thus earning their trust. In a chilling scene, when interrogated about his letter writing, he uses logic to turn the tables on his would be accuser. 12 Years a Slave shows us how patient Solomon is while waiting for the opportune moment to contact his people, and how he learned to gain the proper trust of his owners by his array of skills.
The acting is top-notch here. It will be a shock of Chiwetel Ejiofor doesn’t get nominated for best actor, so the committee better get used to saying his name. Ejiofor has to convey so many emotions (anger, resentment, fear, depression) and be in some very physically demanding situations that most actors would not be able to perform. Ejiofor has been a solid character actor in other good films: it is good to see him get a showcase here. Lupita Nyong’o has some of the most disturbing scenes in the movie which she performs very well in; she has one of the saddest wimpers I have heard in a long time. Benedict Cumberbatch and Brad Pitt get the sympathetic white character roles and are solid in them. Alfree Woodard must have had her scenes cut due to time; her role had solid potential left unexplored. On the cruel side, Paul Dano plays a very good slimy vindictive slave driver that holds grudges very easily and Paul Giamatti is “fun” as a soulless businessman. Two winners in the “white devil” category though. Michael Fassbender as Epps is the worst kind of owner, one who regards slaves as property: he can do whatever he wants to them, but will never kill them due to the labor they provide. His psychological work on Patsey is sadistically joyous. Sarah Paulson might be more scary; in the background of many Fassbender scenes, she looks like she is really pulling the strings, and is bluntly racist and cold to the “property.”
Chilling and necessary, 12 Years a Slave will end up being seen by many students in high school in probably 5 years or so. As much as people like to forget about that part of the United States past, it is important that films like this exist so we don’t forget how important it is to treat those who are different as peers, not as degenerates. Hopefully 12 Years a Slave provides more cultural understanding between blacks and whites; even if it doesn’t, it is a strong movie that will not leave your thoughts for a very long time. Plus, it will make the presenter for the best actor award at the Oscars have to say “Chiwetel Ejiofor.”