12 Years a Slave

A disturbing reality. This is an excellent movie. Visually striking. The camera work is great. The performances are incredibly strong all around, but especially Lupita Nyong’o as Patsey, Michael Fassbender as Edwin Epps, and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup.  We watch as Solomon is drugged, kidnapped, beaten, and sold into slavery after being a freeman in Saratoga, New York. He learns quickly over time to not bring up his intelligence/ability to read and write so he is not hyperfocused on. He gives such an emotional performance, especially at the end when he is finally reunited with his family and introduced to his grandson Solomon. Patsey is also very compelling, picking more than 500 lbs of cotton each day, more than any other man or woman on the plantation. She gets beaten brutally just for borrowing a bar of soap. Edwin has the obsession/lust for her but continues to remind her she is his slave when he beats her. Lupita’s monologue in the end about the 500 lbs is amazing, she delivers it with such intensity and emotion. Michael Fassbender also does an insane job here. Edwin feels so real, despite how intense and crazy and inhumane he is. Genuinely terrifying any moment he is on screen. We are reminded with both him and Benedict Cumberbatch as Master Ford that in the end they don’t care about the lives of their slaves behind using them for labor.  The supporting cast also does well, namely Sarah Paulson as Mistress Epps and Alfre Woodward as Mistress Shaw. Even though their screentime is very little, they are also captivating.  This movie is heartbreaking but impactful and important. Genuinely a great work.