12 YEARS A SLAVE plays TIFF 2013

The thing about going to film festivals in the autumn, is that none of them exist in a vacuum. From late August-onwards, one festival after another present their wares. With each passing year, the hype surrounding “award-worthy” dramas gets louder and louder…and with the evolution of social media, it gets harder to drown out the hype.

Once in a while though, the hype is right…something special has happened, and the good word deserves to be passed along.

12 YEARS A SLAVE is a worthy candidate for this sort of buzz.

The film is the latest from director Steve McQueen (HUNGER, SHAME), and marks something of a new movement for him as a filmmaker. Set in a pre-Civil War America, it’s the story of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free man who is kidnapped and sold into slavery. Circumstances find him getting passed from one master to another, while he tries to stay alive and regain his freedom. The film is complicated, unflinching, stunning, and shocking.

Ejiofor is at the forefront, as a man who has to dig deep within himself to stay alive, and sadly, staying alive and doing what’s right aren’t always the same thing. What’s more, “doing what’s right” on a Southern US plantation is unlike anything most of us can comprehend. I dare say we have forgotten the politics that came with the slave trade, the protocol, and the pure inhumanity. 12 YEARS A SLAVE isn’t content to wag a finger and tsk “slavery was wrong”…it wants to paint a complete picture.

This complete picture is difficult to stay with at times, which is just what the film wants. It dots the story with moments of glorious beauty – but only does so to keep us with it. These are mere sips of water during the long walk across the desert, but they are what keep us going through this important and engaging film.

Much will be said about what Michael Fassbender does as deplorable slave driver Edwin Epps, but keep an eye on the three female leads. Lupita Nyong’o will break your heart as Patsy – a slave who works harder than any of her male counterparts, and likewise has a morsel of her master’s affection. Her piece of the puzzle is an especially complex one, especially considering how she relates with the men around her; slave and slaveowner alike.

In addition to her, Alfre Woodard and Sarah Paulson bring great texture as the two women of status on the Epps plantation. They present to the audience a power struggle that is both amazing, and unexpected.

12 YEARS A SLAVE is a film everyone should see, even if it’s a film they can only watch once. It;s an important film at an important time, and for once, the hype machine is on to something.