12 Years A Slave (2013) 8/10

Starring : Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Garret Dillahunt, Paul Giamatti, Scoot McNairy, Lupita Nyong’o, Adepero Oduye, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt, Michael Kenneth Williams, Alfre Woodard
Director : Steve McQueen
Running Time : 135 mins

It’s 1841, and Solomon Northup (Ejiofor) is a free black man living in New York with his family. One day he is abducted and sold into slavery, where he discovers just how terrible the life of a slave can be and spends more than a decade keeping his head down to avoid punishment while still trying to keep his dignity.

Ejiofor can pretty much turn his hand to anything, so this was bound to be a well-acted movie. Filled with cameos (mostly from white actors, with very few well-known black actors making appearances), this biopic of the life of a man abducted into slavery is hard to watch and filled with violent imagery that will stick with you long after you’ve finished watching. The racism portrayed in this movie is a reality that many Americans had to live with during the 19th century, and although this is a partially fictionalised version of Northup’s biography it is no more important that people can learn from the mistakes of the past (though without being felt to blame for what other people did many years ago).

You’ll like this if you liked : Django Unchained