12 Years a Slave (2013)'s comments

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Groke

To everyone complaining about lack of character development, was it somehow lost on you that this story isn't a work of fiction? What kind on development do you think you would go through while kidnapped, enslaved and brutally abused? Chronic traumatization generally tends to leave a person stuck in an escapist state of some kind. Solomon among others demonstrated amazing psychological resilience by preserving his willpower and taking action to help fellow victims after his release.

2 years 10 months ago

royalspikey77

The soap and the whip...

very late to this movie mostly because the subject matter is so horrible however it is an excellent film, worthy of its awards. As others have commented, the only issue was the passage of time - hard to perceive and perhaps deliberately so - maybe it needed one of those cheesy "seasons come to pass" tropes to ram home the years passing by.

4 years 7 months ago

Siskoid

12 Years a Slave is pretty much what you expect it to be. Like all slavery and Holocaust movies, it's a harrowing horror show, filled with injustice and indignities, building awareness about a shared dark history, but in this case, though it is a true story based on a book written by its protagonist in the mid-19th Century, a free black man kidnapped, taken South and sold into slavery, it's also a film about one man's endurance and tenacity. I do find problems with it, however. The leads are great, but their characters flatten out over time, with little nuance or evolution. Or perhaps this is the result of director Steve McQueen not tracking those 12 years very well. Events could indeed happen over just 2 or 3. Only the fact Solomon Northup's family members have aged and grown up by the time he rejoins them tells that tale. You don't feel it during the film. Smaller parts are even as well served, accents are all over the place, and what I imagine is dialog straight out of the book sounds stilted and strange. The story IS worthy of course, and where McQueen shows brilliance is in his images, editing and sound design. He creates beautiful atmospheres, uses interminable takes to put his point across, uses the landscape to contrast the horror... Strong film making. I just wish every other aspect did the subject matter justice as ably.

7 years 2 months ago

Earring72

Powerful drama, not easy too watch. But a bit cold also and I wasn't really compelled by the lead character. But still shocking and emotional. Well deserved oscars

8 years 11 months ago

nicolaskrizan

Not bad, but not in my book.

https://beyond1001movies.wordpress.com/2015/03/22/1180/

9 years ago

MrPredator

i liked it a lot. in today's world there are many racasm and other problems and white americans have disccriminated to african americans and should rethink history. this is a good story about dark moments in recent history.

9 years 1 month ago

senorroboto

It's very moving, the cinematography is excellent. I thought that the progression of Solomon as he went from struggling to merely resigning himself to his fate was devastating and very well done. The star-studded cast teetered on distracting but everyone played their parts admirably.

9 years 6 months ago

Irynasami

Touches the soul and mind. Made me remember once again how lucky I am to have the life I have.

9 years 8 months ago

buckleli

I'm speechless...

9 years 10 months ago

anamarija

Well I can't say I enjoyed it but it certainly made me feel a lot of things. Overall, I agree with most of the comments - the cinematography is beautiful but there is no real character development.

10 years 1 month ago

stexdo

Great display of McQueen skills in a powerful story. Ceremonious style for a crude subject. The movie would have gained a lot by a slightly better performance by Ejiofor since he's in all scenes but the rest of the cast is almost perfect. The music is not very impressive and, as somebody already noticed, is very similar to some other scores of the last years. The whipping scene is probably the best scene of the year. Hopefully McQueen will still have carte blanche in the next movie.

10 years 1 month ago