12 Years a Slave

Today was an abnormally good day for my anxiety.  I woke up, ate some oatmeal, and then spent the morning in a leisurely way, shooting pixels in the face while playing a video game.  It is the first day that I have had in a long time where I have not felt the workings of stress and anxiety, but the day is still young.  Or semi-young, as it is now getting into the evening. 

So, on this emotionally calm day, I went to the theatre with a friend to see 12 Years a Slave, a movie about a free black man who gets kidnapped and sold into slavery.  It is based on the true story of Solomon Northrup, who was kidnapped in 1841 and transported to the south where he worked on plantations.  It is directed by Steve McQueen and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor who plays the role of Northrup.

Please, do not read this next sentence without reading the entire context of this review.

It is very unfortunate that this film was made.  It is unfortunate that there is truth to what this movie shows.  It is unfortunate that human nature can allow such systems and situations to exist.  It is unfortunate that the history of slavery and racism is forgotten by a lot of people.  It is most unfortunate that so many people believe this was a problem of the past and that it is not an issue of today.  Those unfortunate facts are why this movie was needed to be made.

While some people may believe that slavery is an issue that is quite often tackled in film, that would be a lie.  Would you be surprised that after doing some research I cannot even find evidence of twenty five films on the subject matter?  There are more movies about man-eating sharks than there are about slavery.  There are more films about the dead raising from the grave and feasting on the flesh of the living than there are about slavery.  As far as North American history goes, this is something that continues to haunt people, and yet there is so little to be seen on the subject.

You can probably tell that this is a bit of a frustration to me.  It should be to you, as well.  To think that the stories of the oppressed are hardly told is scary.  If it was you who were wronged, would you want your story to be told?  If you listen in on conversations today, you can hear so much evidence of racism and xenophobia, and but it is just not as overt as slavery.  And it is usually prefaced by, 'I'm not a racist, but...'

Perhaps my frustration lies with the fact that this movie is claimed to have only been made because of Brad Pitt's involvement.  Pitt's company, Plan B, worked on the project with Pitt as a producer.  He also made sure he had a very important role in the film.  From what I have heard, Brad Pitt's role in this film is what allowed it to have doors opened for it, on account of the 'black content.'  Lee Daniel's The Butler also faced this problem, and Robin Williams being cast as President Eisenhower was done to open doors as well.  Racism exists in Hollywood, and both of those films had to rely on white talent to be seen.  That reason alone shows why this is a conversation that needs to continue happening, and movies like this need to continue to be made.

My rant is over for now, or perhaps it may show up again later.  I suppose seeing this film just made me so frustrated over the fact that it had to work its way into wide release (despite the star power, critical acclaim and Oscar buzz surrounding it), and the fact that the topic seems to be dead to people.  A good movie gets the emotions going, and this one sure did.

It is not a 'date night' movie, I must be honest.  It never once pulls any punches about what life must have been like for slaves.  McQueen crafts the brutal scenes well by only showing us a little of the violence at times, and at times focusing just on the faces and emotions of the victim and the abuser.  This leads to a very emotional experience during such scenes as we see and feel the torment (or power) of those involved.

What makes this film interesting is the situation that the protagonist enters.  Because Solomon Northrup is a free man, a very well off and educated man, the life of slavery and subservience is incredibly foreign to him.  We watch him go through a progression of arguing his case to accepting it and giving in for survival's sake.  There is always hope for him, and a theme of the movie is his refusal to give into dispair.  Through some horrific scenes and moments, we see the man hold onto his memory of his family and plod forward.  Some of the most powerful moments of the movie are when Northrup runs out of hope and we see him, for the first time, become a slave.

McQueen never resorts to narration or expository dialogue in this film to show the different emotional states of the characters, and the progressions that they are going through.  All of the movies emotions are conveyed through the framing of the film, the dialogue, the pacing, and the acting.  There are outstanding performances too numerous to count, but there does need to be some major recognition to Ejiofor and to Michael Fassbender who plays a brutal plantation owner.  While watching the movie, I could not imagine the dark place that Fassbender must have had to put himself to portray such hatred and contempt for people.

It may be that I have talked about pacing in a few of the movies that I have recently reviewed, and I think there is so much power in knowing not when to rush a scene, a theme, or a relationship.  McQueen showed a masterful grasp over knowing just how to push the movie along, and when some scenes needed to be abnormally long.  There are times when a scene keeps going, and going, past a point of comfort for the audience to elevate the emotion at the moment, or for the transition to come.  I may have felt that once or twice near the end of the film a scene or two felt a little out of place or rushed, but that is about the only criticism I could say about this movie.

It is so unfortunate that this film needed to be made.  When one watches such treatment of fellow human beings, one can begin reflecting on how this story should never have been told because this never should have happened in the first place.  In amongst the lush and fertile scenery of the south, we get such a grim tale of human rights versus rights of ownership over property.  We watch a man who is struggling to not give himself over to being property, but to hold onto his humanity.  Movies like this are very important, as it helps us remember what unchecked racism can turn into and can remind us the pains suffered in the past, that are still alive, breeding and relevant in the present.  That is unfortunate.

Rating - 4 out of 4 stars.