12 Years A Slave

It's such a terrible thing to say/think about. And I've said it before, this year even. But unfortunately, I'll defend it. Movies about racial oppression are sadly ineffective for me anymore. And that's not the issue's fault. No, I can read a book and find myself very angry, upset, distraught, and disgusted just by a few historical facts in a history book. Movies of the subject matter tend to water down the truth, to make the movie saddening but far too watered down to be anger inducing. Earlier this year, I was very happy by the amazing job done in 42, with moments that made me feel as close to the fear and anger that I will possibly ever feel.

This movie brings it to a whole new level. This film puts a brutal story on screen, one that no one wants to know, that we all hide from, to water down the truth of what slavery would really have been like. This film shows us a characters back being torn open by the whip turned against her. It shows us a master who sees his slaves as more than property, but who must sell our main character to protect him from the vengeful farm hands. We see a man ripped away unjustly from his family solely because of his skin color. We see a complete failure of justice solely because of white mans word over his. It's horrifying. It's depressing. And cinematically, it's beautiful.

Chiwetel Ejiofor is an absolutely mesmerizing main character. He plays Solomon Northup, a free black man in the north who is sold into slavery by two men who claim to be hiring him as a musician. He spends, obviously, 12 years being passed between 3 slave owners, unable to prove or fight for his freedom despite being a free man. He connects with us, and maintains a perfect balance of hopefulness with a depressing amount of hopelessness. One scene in particular was hard to watch, one where he yelled at another slave to let her now separated children go. We also watch as his twisted slave owner, played by a phenomenally disturbing Michael Fassbender, orders him to whip his fellow slave and rip open her back. We see Benedict Cumberbatch, a "reasonable man" (but still a slaveowner, so take that description with a grain of salt), protect the body of our main character while his sadistic and immature farm hand, played by Paul Dano.

This really is a film like no other. It pulls tears from your eyes out of fear, despair, and hopelessness. Even though the ending is given, the frustration and darkness of the situation leads to a certain despair in my seat, an emotion I never felt so powerfully before. To call this film a success would be an understatement. No, there's only one way I can describe this film - The best film of 2014.

Rank - 5/5