12 Years A Slave - A Review

"I don't want to survive; I want to live." This, in a nutshell, is the plight of Solomon Northup, the protagonist of Steve McQueen's outstanding historical epic 12 Years A Slave. Adapted from the autobiography of the real-life Northup, the film chronicles his tragic story, beginning with his kidnap as a free black man from New York and following him as he is forced into an unflinchingly brutal life of slavery in the pre-Civil War South. 12 Years A Slave is not upbeat, nor is it particularly comfortable to watch, but it is so superb that it is undoubtedly the film to which all future depictions of slavery will be compared for a long time to come.

Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave

McQueen's direction is a masterstroke. He begins the film by seamlessly interweaving between Northrup's past life as a free man, where he is happy as a husband, father and musician, and his current life as a slave, shackled, mistreated, and denied even the basic right of his name. The juxtaposition is extremely effective. The knowledge of his eventual enslavement casts an impending sense of doom over the scenes of his free life; however, at the same time, the brief glimpses that McQueen provides into Northrup's free life make his kidnap that much worse. Furthermore, his trademark use of long, holding shots are also used to great effect. An early scene in which Northrup is savagely beaten, first with a paddle then with a belt, for protesting his innocence is depicted in one take. Similarly, a scene in which Northrup dangles from a tree, supporting himself only with the tips of his toes whilst other slaves calmly pass by in the background, is also shot in a single take. There is even a scene in which brutal floggings are relegated to the unfocused background of a shot of slaves picking cotton.The result is effective but also incredibly unsettling, for it provides the scenes not just with a sense of helplessness but also a sort of 'matter-of-factness', reminding the audience of the characters' casual acceptance of such horrific examples of inhumanity.

The film would not be what it is without the performances of three of its actors. Chiwitel Ejifor, of course, playing Northup is remarkable to watch, able to convey 12 years of pain and despair in a single look of his eyes. He lends his character a grittiness and steely determination as well as a gentle softness, which combine to make him someone with whom it is almost impossible not to empathise. Even more impressive is the interplay between Michael Fassbender as Edwin Epps, Northrup's second and sadistically vicious slave master, and Lupita Nyong'o, the hardworking, beautiful slave Patsey, to whom Epps is strongly attracted. In many ways the two performances are dichotomous. Fassbender, on the one hand, plays Epps with an incredible intensity, capturing every ounce of inner conflict and self-hatred that his character experiences, and giving off the impression that his built-up rage is ready to explode at any moment. Nyong'o's performance, on the other hand, is far more understated but equally as impressive. On the surface, a face of acquiescence; beneath, a woman being torn apart by repeated rape (at the hands of Epps) and the cruel hostilities of Epps's jealous wife. In fact, so astonishingly compelling is Nyong'o's performance that it is hard to believe that this is only her first major acting role. Her star will almost certainly burn bright for a long time to come.

Lupita Nyong'o is superb as Patsey.

Hans Zimmer's score, as always, is perfect. Though there are a number of arrangements of slave songs and folk music throughout the film, it is the main theme, Solomon, which stands out. In a fitting reference to Northrup's musical talents, it uses violins to create a poignant, sad, but fundamentally hopeful piece which succeeds in capturing the very essence of its namesake. All the scenes within 12 Years A Slave are brilliant, but the ones which feature this swelling Zimmer theme are made exceptional by it.

Though there is much violence within the film, it never feels gratuitous (the same cannot be said for last year's well-received slavery film, Django Unchained). The most brutal display of it occurs in what is also the most powerful scene: when a furious Epps, unable to do so himself (at least at first), forces Northrup to flog a stripped and bound Patsey to within an inch of her life. Nyong'o's resignation, Fassbender's fury, and Ejiofor's realisation that, after years of fighting to retain it, he is losing his humanity with every lash of the whip is deeply, deeply affecting and could make even the most hard-hearted of viewers weep.  

Chiwitel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender in 12 Years A Slave.

12 Years A Slave appears to be the slavery film that Hollywood had, until now, been too afraid to make. It does not shy away from its horrors, nor does it pretend that humanity was able to triumph in the face of such evil. It is a profoundly moving piece of film, and by the time the final scene faded to black in the showing I saw, many in the cinema were openly weeping. Quite simply, if McQueen's masterpiece does win Best Picture at this year's Oscars, it will be an injustice.

5/5

Lincoln - A Review (Slight Spoilers)

It's awards season. The BAFTAs have been and gone and the Oscars are just around the corner. As always, there is an abundance of speculation about which film is going to walk away with the coveted Best Picture Oscar, and this year's hotly-tipped favourite is Steven Spielberg's latest historical epic, Lincoln. The bulk of the film chronicles one month of the 16th President's life, January 1865, one of the most important months in the history of the United States, and in so doing shows how the Constitution's 13th Amendment came to be passed. 

Steven Spielberg's highly acclaimed Lincoln.

Expectations for this film were high; with Spielberg at the helm, an all-star cast, and the focus being one of the United States' most beloved presidents, they were always going to be. But thankfully Lincoln doesn't disappoint, and there is one key reason for this: Daniel Day-Lewis.

The film may depict the brutality of the American Civil War and demonstrate how the nation was fundamentally and almost irreparably divided, yet at its core it is undoubtedly a film about Abraham Lincoln himself. It is a story about the type of man he was and the choices he made. Lincoln was always going to be made or broken by the actor charged with bringing him to life, and there could not have better choice for the role than Day-Lewis. Putting aside how astonishingly like Lincoln Day-Lewis looks when in costume, his ability to encapsulate the man's genius, patience, kindness, weariness and authority is simply staggering. So perfectly does he capture the very essence of Lincoln that when watching the film it is necessary to consistently remind yourself that you are not watching Lincoln himself but rather an actor playing him - though even then it can be quite hard to actually believe that. Day-Lewis really does carry the film on his shoulders, just like the man he portrays carried the fate of the Union on his, and just as Lincoln succeeded in ensuring the continuance of the Union, Day-Lewis succeeds in elevating an already-great film into something truly legendary.

Daniel Day-Lewis as President Abraham Lincoln.

The downside of having such a strong leading-man in a film such as this is that it becomes easy to overlook the supporting cast, which in the case of Lincoln would be a terrible shame. Sally Field is marvellous as Mary Todd Lincoln (showing how it is never easy being the First Lady of the United States), Tommy Lee Jones is good but not spectacular as Thaddeus Stevens, Joseph Gordon-Levitt does a fantastic job of portraying the frustrated but impassioned Robert Lincoln, and Hal Holbrook in particular shines in his portrayal of Francis Preston Blair. Collectively, the cast succeeds in bringing the world of Abraham Lincoln to life, and are undoubtedly an important part of the film's success.

Putting to one side for a moment the performances of the actors, the film itself is slightly flawed but nevertheless great. My main criticisms are that it is probably 20-30 minutes too long, and that John Williams's score, whilst recognisable as a Williams soundtrack, isn't his greatest achievement. But these minor gripes are easily outweighed by the overwhelming plethora of positive things about the film. Two scenes in particular were highlights for me. The first, the beginning of the scene in which the House votes on the amendment, which sees a number of black men and women enter the Chamber to watch the votes being cast about an issue that will decide their fate. It's hard to pin down exactly why I found it so moving, but I did, and in a lot of ways it reminded me of that scene at the end of the trial in To Kill A Mockingbird, in which all the black men and women stand up as Atticus leaves the courtroom. The second scene - also my favourite scene - happens to also be the second scene of the film, in which Lincoln talks to four soldiers of the Union army; two black, two white. Obviously having the four soldiers stand side by side is a touching visual representation of exactly what it was that Lincoln was fighting for, but what really got me was how the soldiers had committed the Gettysburg Address to memory. That, for me, highlights just how important that speech, and the man who spoke it, is in the narrative of world history. It shows that just as it resonated with those men two years after it was spoken, it resonates with us, citizens of the modern world, one and a half centuries after it was spoken. It's an understated scene in the film, but it's hugely affecting.

Ultimately, whilst I wholeheartedly want Lincoln to win the Best Picture Oscar at the end of the month, it would not quite be a crime against humanity if it did not win. What would be such a crime, however, is if Daniel Day-Lewis did not win the Best Actor award. Towards the end of the film, upon the pronunciation of Lincoln's death, Edwin M. Stanton utters the famous phrase "Now he belongs to the ages." Quite fittingly, Day-Lewis's performance of the great man also belongs to the ages.

Abraham Lincoln: a man of the ages.