The 2013 film “12 Years a Slave” is based on the memoir and true story “12 Years a Slave” written in 1853 by a former slave named Solomon Northup. The film begins with Solomon Northup in the fields working in the fields as a slave on a plantation in Louisiana. Shortly afterwards, it shows Solomon Northup before slavery as a freeman who had a family and a happy life as a landowner in New York (a state where slavery was not legal at the time.) However, when he went to Washington D.C. (where slavery was legal at the time), he was abducted, shipped to Louisiana, and sold into slavery. After 12 years of living on the plantation he meets a Canadian that helped him to leave the plantation.
The film is incredibly well done. The acting is phenomenal with great performances from Chiwetwl Ejiofor as Solomon Northup and Michael Fassbender as Edwin Epps. The scenery and historical accuracy are also very appealing. When I watched it, I felt like I was it was being filmed at the time period in which it is taking place, even though video cameras weren’t invented back then. When I watched many of the scenes in the movie it reminded me so much of what I had read in history books.
This may be shocking, but I actually did not like watching this movie. One may be shocked and ask,” Why did you not like the movie? Didn’t you say that it is incredibly well done?” Well, yes, it is, but it’s not a feel-good movie, so although the film is well made, it is also very hard to watch despite the fact it has a happy ending. Director Steve McQueen does not hold back showing the horrendous reality of slavery in the United States before the American Civil War. I remember as a young teenager wanting to see this movie, but now after watching it I’m glad I didn’t see it when I was younger, due to its realistic portrayal of slavery in the United States.
I’ve seen over 600 movies, I think. Usually when I watch a movie for the first time, I can usually decide whether I want to watch a movie ever again. “12 Years a Slave” is different. I’m honestly not sure if I will see it again, not because of the quality of the film rather due to the fact that it is not a feel-good movie.
Jean-Marc Brand 