Steve McQueen's Twelve Years A Slave

[terry78]

Ah, Italy.

 

[747]

This movie is unforgiving and brave in it's heaviness – so skillfully and thoughtfully shot & edited that it never becomes gratuitous. And I could have described both HUNGER and SHAME the same way. In that aspect McQueen might not surprise, but he often achieves greatness nonetheless.

Despite being so grievous, it pulls off being visually pretty at times. It works because it serves a purpose – which is reflection.

I admire that the story doesn't feel all that dramatized. But it also makes it a bit stagnant at times. It thrives more on individual scenes than the story as a whole. Luckily it's shockful of masterfully crafted, extremely hard-hitting scenes.

Hans Zimmer's score is also great; low-key while highly emotional. Very effective use of it too, in a sparse way. Many fantastic performances; with Michael Fassbender as the most impressive in a very disturbing and malicious role

8/10

 

[Hyde]

At first I wasn't really getting the big deal about this film. I mean, it was good and all and the performances were pretty good but it wasn't brilliant or incredible like all the critics have been hyping it up to be.

Then came Patsy's whipping scene.

I don't know what it was, but, honestly, that had me on the verge of tears. I had to look away for a few minutes, because Fassbender, Ejiofor and whoever was playing Patsy (I feel bad that I don't know, but she was brilliant) all shined during that short scene. After that I totally got the whole film and it improved massively.

Is it perfect? No. You don't really feel the passage of time (it feels like he was a slave for two, three years at most - not twelve) and I think we should have seen more of Solomon's family, either at the beginning or through more flashbacks. By the time he's captured in the opening of the movie, it feels as if you're less than ten minutes in and can't really comprehend it all.

Overall, 9/10. It's an excellent film that will hopefully sweep the Oscars, especially for Ejiofor and Fassbender. Too bad we didn't see a lot of Cumberbatch and Giamatti.

 

[chamber-music]

I didn't even notice Ruth Negga was in this until my friend pointed it out.

You must have a heart of stone to not be moved by this film. All the inhumanity and brutality was hard to watch.

I think McQueen did a great job. It can't be easy compressing 12 years of slavery in which Solomon had many different slave owners down to a 2 hour movie.

 

[Solidus]

Ya superb film. I'd say probably my favorite of this year. I do hope it does well at the Oscars.

One thing that really hit me, though simple and sparingly in it was Zimmer's score. It just...was simple but hit a cord with me. Truly a superb film though.

9.5/10

 

[chamber-music]

I didn't know that CNN financial correspondent Zain Asher is Chiwetel Ejiofor’s younger sister.

Here are pictures and details of the real Solomon Northup's descendants some of which would be considered 'Caucasian' ironically.

http://facesofsolomon.com/

 

[Sawyer]

Armond White

http://www.slashfilm.com/filmcast-ep-252-12-years-a-slave-guest-armond-white-from-city-arts/

He just keeps getting classier...

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/1...at-new-york-critics-circle-awards-1201032911/

What a ****.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

I saw the film last week, but I wanted to give it a bit of time so that I could see if my crazily high opinion held.

It did.

12 Years a Slave is one of, if not THE best film I have ever seen.

It was just so perfectly constructed and balanced - It showed enough to shock, but not so much it felt like it was playing up the shock value aspect. It had enough moments of light/calm that it never became too over powering. It was both beautiful and horrific, and it moved between the two seemlessley... and that's something that makes it feel REAL and tangible, because that's life... horrific and beautiful!

It was one of those rare films that keeps you in the moment every single second. I have no idea if I needed the toilet through that film... I feel like I forgot I even had a bladder. Mind mind was so utterly transported into Solomon's journey that nothing else mattered.

There is not a single aspect of the film - acting, directing, cinematography, score, editing etc - that I could see flaws in. It was all pure A star.

I really hope it clears up at the Oscars.

I enjoyed a few films this year, but none of them come close to this IMO.

 

[chamber-music]

He just keeps getting classier...

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/1...at-new-york-critics-circle-awards-1201032911/

What a ****.

When discussing Samuel L.Jacksons career White called him the ultimate Hollywood uncle tom

White has also had some rather awful unclassy comments about other actors and directors.

He is a professional troll. White is known for dumping on critically acclaimed movies while praising trashy films.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Ebert described him best. A troll.

 

[roach]

When discussing Samuel L.Jacksons career White called him the ultimate Hollywood uncle tom

White has also had some rather awful unclassy comments about other actors and directors.

He is a professional troll. White is known for dumping on critically acclaimed movies while praising trashy films.

I find the best way to take power away from White is by ignoring him.

 

[Sawyer]

I find that the best way to take power away from him would be to kidnap and murder him.












Too much?

 

[roach]

I find that the best way to take power away from him would be to kidnap and murder him.












Too much?

well if you want to go to prison where 'bag and board' has a completely different meaning then go ahead...though I am never in favor of killing someone just because he likes things I don't.

 

[Sawyer]

Nor am I, under most circumstances, but liking Norbit is just a bridge too far, in my opinion.

 

[Keyser Soze]

He just keeps getting classier...

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/1...at-new-york-critics-circle-awards-1201032911/

What a ****.

If he's such a repeated disgrace, why does he keep getting invited back to these events?

 

[chamber-music]

If he's such a repeated disgrace, why does he keep getting invited back to these events?

The same reason Kanye West keeps getting invited to award shows. The publicity.

 

[Dr. Evil]

If Ejiofor is nominated for an Oscar, I hope it's the first of many because I don't want him to fall into the "One Hit Oscar Wonder" trap that has so many actors (which Christoph Waltz was a part of until he was nominated for Django Unchained). The last Black Actor to win Best Actor, was Jamie Foxx (who doesn't fall into the "One Hit Oscar Wonder" list due to two nominations in one year, the year he won). Oh, Sandra Bullock could be taken off that list very soon.

Same goes for Lupita Nyong'o. I am curious to see what route she takes in her career. Does she go the Zoe Saldana route and attach herself to big blockbuster movies? Or does she continue to do smaller stuff. or does she do both like Viola Davis?

 

[Keyser Soze]

I hope for big things for Ejiofor. I've been waiting for him to get his big break, that one role that will propel him into true movie-star territory, for the best part of a decade now. True story: back when the Thor film was in its early days and we were discussing casting options on these forums, Chiwetel Ejiofor was my choice for Loki.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Even if Ejiofor doesn't win he's a movie star already.

He has a good chance, and his biggest threat will be Matt M.

Of course, he's the popular pick for Black Panther.

 

[redhawk23]

If Ejiofor is nominated for an Oscar, I hope it's the first of many because I don't want him to fall into the "One Hit Oscar Wonder" trap that has so many actors (which Christoph Waltz was a part of until he was nominated for Django Unchained). The last Black Actor to win Best Actor, was Jamie Foxx (who doesn't fall into the "One Hit Oscar Wonder" list due to two nominations in one year, the year he won). Oh, Sandra Bullock could be taken off that list very soon.

Same goes for Lupita Nyong'o. I am curious to see what route she takes in her career. Does she go the Zoe Saldana route and attach herself to big blockbuster movies? Or does she continue to do smaller stuff. or does she do both like Viola Davis?

There was what a 3 year gap there?

 

[Black Narcissus]

That wasn't Steve McQueen! I want my goddamn money back.

 

[Dr. Evil]

It's safe to say that Chiwetel Ejiofor will continue to find work, we can't say the same about Lupita Nyong'o at least not yet. It will be interesting to see where she fits. She will either be a top black actress in high demand or she will fall into the post Oscar trap that Jennifer Hudson and Monique went to. Have either of them done anything worthy since winning the Oscar?

Fassbender, Cumberbatch, Ejiofor, Woodard, Paulson and Giamatti won't have that issue. All will find work easily. In fact, Fassbender and Giamatti are in two big superhero properties. Ejiofor is a popular favorite here to play T'Challa.

 

[Keyser Soze]

12 YEARS A SLAVE is a true 5-star masterpiece. I was enthralled throughout, sheer masterful filmmaking from director Steve McQueen. He showed early promise with HUNGER, and built on that promise with SHAME, but in 12 YEARS A SLAVE McQueen has made his first classic, something with the power and indelible presence of THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION. But unlike that film, this is no uplifting story about the triumph of the human spirit. 12 YEARS A SLAVE is about the dismantling of the human spirit, and the ways it can be deformed into something hideous and brutal. It's harrowing viewing.

Of course, there have been films about slavery before, and it's well-established how horrible and shameful that chapter in American history was. But I don't think that horror has even been so horrifyingly, devastatingly realised as it is here. It's a perfect marriage of source material and filmmaker, with Steve McQueen's distinctive, lyrical style - his way of holding a shot of minutiae or a flicker of human expression until it becomes hypnotic - serving to hone us right into all the little details that make all the brutality and inhumanity feel not like something historical or cinematic, but something real, something that real people actually went through. This is a bruising film, one that will leave you emotionally exhausted rather than elated by its end.

Chiwetel Eijofor is an actor I've admired and felt was on the cusp of superstardom for the best part of a decade now. For so long, in fact, that I was beginning to fear his window had passed him by. But this film should surely cement his status as a headline movie star, and as high-quality as the competition is from the likes of Christian Bale and, from what I hear, Leonardo DiCaprio and Bruce Dern, I can't imagine anyone being more deserving of the Best Actor Oscar than him. As Solomon Northup, he is in just about every scene of the film, carrying the story on his shoulders. And the several moments where the camera just zooms in on his face to capture his battle with despair is just powerhouse acting. McQueen favourite Michael Fassbender is also excellent as the tyrannical plantation owner who rules over Solomon for much of the film. He's truly a terrifying, hateful presence, and this is no Calvin Candie pantomime villain we can be reassured will get his comeuppance by the film's conclusion. The film is filled with numerous quality actors in various small roles, from Benedict Cumberbatch to Paul Giamatti to Paul Dano to Sarah Paulson to Brad Pitt. The actress playing slave girl Patsy is also heartbreaking... just when I thought Jennifer Lawrence in AMERICAN HUSTLE was a total shoo-in for Best Supporting Actress!

Speaking of Oscars, this is undoubtedly by pick to take Best Picture. I can't imagine seeing a better film than this in 2014. It's heartbreaking, it nearly moved me to tears, but it's beautiful, magnificent cinema.

 

[Sawyer]

If he's such a repeated disgrace, why does he keep getting invited back to these events?

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/01/13/armond-white-kicked-out-of-ny-critics/

It's handled.

 

[Octoberist]

It's one thing to have an opinion, but to be such a disrespectful heckler at a ceremony to honor McQueen is inexcusable. I'm glad that White got kicked out of the New York Film Critics Circle.