Despite its challenging subject matter – or rather,
because of it – 12 Years a Slave could so easily be dismissed as the sort of
contrived, emotionally manipulative film specifically designed to woo the Oscar
crowd. You know the type: rousing war epics, political dramas making defiant
left field statements, biopics about controversial characters wrestling with
their inner demons in the form of drug/alcohol addictions and, especially, Holocaust
movies, which have become something of a punchline since that episode of Ricky
Gervais’ film-set sitcom, Extras (“I've
noticed that whenever you do a film about the Holocaust – guaranteed Oscar!”).
But while we’ve been exposed to the horrors of
WWII and Jewish persecution on a fairly regular basis, the same cannot be said
about the enslavement of African Americans throughout the 17th, 18th
and 19th centuries in the United States, a dark chapter in the
country’s history which hasn’t been tackled on-screen with the frequency it
deserves. 15 minutes into Steve McQueen’s film, the reason will become obvious.
12 Years a Slave tells the true story of freeman
Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a talented violinist living with his family
in Saratoga, New York who is lured to Washington with the promise of work, only
to find himself captured and sold into slavery in Louisiana. Here he will
endure 12 years of subjugation and all sorts of racial abuse at the hands of
plantation owners and slave drivers, especially the tyrannical Edwin Epps
(Michael Fassbender).
A Hollywood director could’ve mishandled 12 Years… by saddling it with
heavy-handed moral lessons about equality and brotherhood (the only time we
come close to this is with the brief appearance of Brad Pitt’s abolitionist
carpenter, a character a little too angelic to be entirely believable), but
British filmmaker Steve McQueen instead is bold enough to go down a darker
route. He’s already proven with Hunger
and Shame that he adopts an uncompromising
approach towards the topics he confronts and therefore doesn’t flinch away from
portraying the hardships of slavery that go beyond the “N” word and long hours
spent in the plantation fields. Men and women are stripped and paraded for
prospective owners to inspect, a mother is separated from her children with no
sign of remorse whatsoever (“Your children will soon enough be forgotten”) and
a foreman sings racist songs in a horribly misguided attempt to alleviate
working conditions (Oh run nigger run well the pattyroller will get you/Run
nigger run well you better get away). The audience doesn’t need a character to address
what’s right and wrong for them – the material speaks itself.
It helps that our conduit into this oppressive
world is Chiwetel Ejiofor, who infuses Solomon with the humanity and sincere
emotion required to get us through such a brutal journey. An actor who
throughout the past decade has excelled in small but memorable roles, it is immensely
gratifying to see Ejiofor rise to leading man status and hold his own against
some of Hollywood’s most exciting talents, including Pitt, Paul Giamatti,
Benedict Cumberbatch and regular McQueen collaborator Michael Fassbender, who
terrifies as ruthless yet self-loathing plantation owner Edwin Epps. But also
worthy of mention is newcomer Lupita Nyong'o, who turns in a disarmingly
committed performance as Patsey, a young slave who also happens to be the
object of Epps’ affections. The scene in which the latter has her tied to a post
and whipped to within an inch of her life before the helpless gazes of the
other slaves makes for distressing viewing and will most likely be the scene
that will remain with you long after the credits roll.
Like the horrific marks on the characters’ backs,
12 Years A Slave is a brutal yet
necessary history lesson that will scar and move in equal measure. And
considering the impressive number of Academy Award nominations it has stacked
up, consider the Oscar crowd wooed.
5/5
