12 Years a Slave (2013)

User Review

• 

  Barneyonmovies

  9 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: '12 Years A Slave,' sees Steve McQueen turn his attention to the slave trade, and the result is the brilliantly difficult piece of cinema you'd expect with relentlessly graphic portrayals of physical and emotional abuse and torture that will have you wincing and angry at the horrors of this real life evil.
  
  But beyond the gut-wrenching displays of horror, what makes this McQueen's masterpiece is that it concentrates on investing you heavily in characters by not only putting them through their paces, but also through genuine arcs and testing dilemmas. This is of course helped immensely by incredible performances across the board from the likes of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong'o and Michael Fassbender, and all in all it makes for a more complete and gripping cinematic experience than a simple statement. As a result, it does this horrible historic period true justice, and is ultimately a film that everyone should watch for that very reason.
  
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: It is a very difficult film to watch...
  
  VERDICT: The definitive portrayal of the horrors of the slave trade, '12 Years A Slave,' is truly awful to watch, but it's also Steve McQueen's most accomplished and emotionally engaging film to date.

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