12 Years A Slave might as well get the central points out of the way. It has a great leading performance that pulls you through the struggle, has some very remarkable moments in terms of Steve McQueen's direction, particularly the hanging scene, or simply image the boat ride heading towards the wrong direction for any freeman. The intensity of the situation as found and the journey of Solomon Northup's attempt to regain his freedom is a poignant one. Now is it a flawless film? Well Brad Pitt the Canadian Christ figure would prevent that right from the outset. The film also does not feel like twelve years. Now this does seem like a double edged sword since you don't want a film to feel long, however the film's depiction of the passing of time is lacking. It can also be said that the only really well developed character is Solomon, which for the most part is true. This again is not necessarily as bad as it might sound as the film works in terms of following through on Solomon's perspective of the events. I'll admit this does leave some interesting threads that are not fully examined, and certain characters feeling a mite bit too thin. The film still succeeds in offering a moving and often brutal depiction of one man's attempt to survive through slavery.
4.5/5
4 comments:
I absolutely agree. Great film, but there was something missing.
Please bump Fassbender down.
Joking, I shouldn't impose my own subjective opinions, but re-watches have proved to me that he really didn't overcome the painfully thin writing behind his character.
I still think Ejiofor is great though, but yes the film is indeed missing something.
I'm probably the only one, but I thinl Fassbender was the MVP and overcame completely the limitations of the script.
It's been a while since I've watched the film, but I remember thinking that Fassbender was perfect in his role, and his scenes with Ejiofor were excellent. A very well deserved nomination in my opinion.
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