Lupita Nyong'o in 12 Years a Slave

 

“Why now?”

The rapturous applause had just died down. The incredibly talented cast had all gathered on-stage. The deeply affected crowd begrudgingly gave up the lengthy standing ovation. It was in this moment, this afterglow of pure effusion that the question was posed to a (surprisingly jovial) Steve McQueen. There are a litany of ways to answer that question – and lord knows McQueen is capable of all of them – but the response he chose was illuminating.

“The timing seemed right. Between the fiftieth anniversary of Doctor King’s March on Washington and the fate of Trayvon Martin, America has shown that the flame is still burning”

So, what began as a glimpse back into our past suddenly became a reflection of our present…a stunning, unflinching, and powerful reflection of our present and how we got here.

But then we got Ferguson, and Eric Garner, and Baltimore…

Suddenly a film that encapsulated events from one hundred seventy years back was a totem for our present. With every incident, and every protest, 12 YEARS A SLAVE seemed to glow brighter and brighter. Within it we witness the blows that have given our racial relations the scars still carried today. Likewise, within it we witness the resolve to endure – the greatest act of defiance that any movement could ever want. All of this comes by way of amazing imagery, a deeply affecting story, and some truly complexed acting. This film could have been medicine, it could have been a plate full of vegetables. Instead, it arrives with a surprising amount of subtle beauty, and sings a stunning melody under some violent lyrics.

Quickly, what started as a banner for a moment became a flag for a decade gone sideways. And yet, as the flag waves in the hot summer breeze, there’s the slightest feeling of hope that comes with it. It’s the hope that maybe one day, a film like this will be seen as ancient history instead of a reflection of our times. It’s the hope that the the information we share through modern technology mean that atrocities like what we see depicted will not happen in vain.

So “why now”? Probably because there is a long history in America of artists using their work to call attention to great injustice. While we most readily associate such things with events from fifty years ago, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t still songs to be sung, and stories to be told.

12 YEARS A SLAVE reminds us that the change still hasn’t come…but maybe it still can.

 

Click below for my original review of 12 YEARS A SLAVE, and feel free to leave comments with your thoughts on this film and its place in the decade so far.

 

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6 Replies to “So Far, So Good: 12 YEARS A SLAVE”

    1. Do revisit it. When the initial shock wears off, you can pay more attention to the various elements of filmmaking…which are all top-drawer.

  2. A beautifully written piece, even by your high standards; however I have an issue with the unquestioning praise 12 Years a Slave has received. That is not to say it is a bad film, it is a really good film, but I don’t think it is a great film. From memory, I don’t think it made my top ten of the year, and I consider it the weakest of the McQueen’s features. It was timely, and it is beautifully shot, supremely well acted but ultimately, it is a collection of memorable moments. The underlying narrative lacks focus and there is never any sense of time and space. Take away the final scene and the title, and I would have had no idea the film was set over such a long period of time.

    How will it be looked at in a decade or two? I am sure it will be better remembered and regarded than Shakespeare in Love or A Beautiful mind but not as well as The Hurt Locker or No Country for Old Men that just seem to get better every time I see them.

    As for your final hope for change. We have come so far in 50 and 150 years and I am sure we will go further in the next 50 and 150, but there will always be ignorant and misguided people. We have recently had an election here and the small minded side of society are peddling a slightly different rhetoric, more xenophobic than overtly racist, they are frighteningly plausible to some impressionable minds.

    1. I remember coming away from it with that same wondering of pacing as well, but as I let it sit with me, I realized it didn’t matter. There’s a moment in the late-going where Northrop is just sitting and staring out…he’s almost looking square at the lens. It’s an uncomfortable moment and seems to go on for a while.

      But in that moment, if we dare to look back at him, we can see the signs of what’s happened. We can see the grey in his hair, and how desheveled his hair has become. We can see the lines on his face, and that the light in his eyes has gone out. In short, he’s a pale imitation of the man so full of life we saw dining after a concert in the early-going.

      He might have only been in slavery for 12 months, but the toll it took on his was a much greater factor.

      I have the feeling it will be looked back on with high regard because it’s not just “a message movie”. Like I just mentioned to Jordan, when you get past the initial shock & awe, what you’re left with is a film that uses sound, vision, direction, and performance to the highest degree…and those films always retain their impact.

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