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12 Years A Slave

In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery...

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In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery…

12 Years A Slave marks the big step-up for film director Steve McQueen, as he leaves behind hunger strikes and sex addicts for a larger project about another difficult yet hefty subject: slavery. Significant awards talk is in the air. McQueen is keen to make his mark on this material – but nevertheless is sensitive to the demands of the marketplace in which his film will be shown. On one hand, there is a silent tableau of slaves filmed standing by the side of a plantation, rich with the kind of experimental vibes you’d expect from a former Turner Prize winner. On the other, to acknowledge the milieu in which McQueen now moves, there is the score – a violin theme that, you suspect, in the hands of, say, Hans Zimmer, would have been delivered by a massed orchestra with added choirs.

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12 Years A Slave is based on a memoir by Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free-born African American who was kidnapped in 1841 and sold into slavery. McQueen’s film follows his passage through a succession of owners – Paul Giamatti, Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Fassbender.

The worst of the lot is Fassbender – enjoying his Amon Goeth moment as cotton planter Master Epps, a man for whom money, power, lust and whiskey have stripped all morality. If he is to survive, Northup – an intelligent, educated man – must keep the truth about his abilities from his masters.

As a corrective to Tarantino’s cartoon Django Unchained, 12 Years A Slave is entirely successful – it is a sober, non-judgmental study that does not preach to audiences. In contains many powerful and lasting images, not least a prolonged shot of Northup, strung up from a tree as punishment, his feet barely reaching the ground, while plantation life continues around him. But for all its commendable points, as a film it never quite hangs together cohesively. Its at least 20 minutes too long, while the episodic structure – as Northup passes from owner to owner – breaks the film’s pacing. A late cameo from Brad Pitt (incredibly, given star billing on an early version of the Italian film poster) jolts you out of the movie entirely.

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It’s unflinching in its portrayal of the privations suffered during slavery, but some voices worry it’s too unsparing for American audiences. It’s certainly not as worthy as Spielberg’s Amistad – or as syrupy as The Butler, which tells the history of the civil rights movement as witnessed by a black butler who served through eight White House administrations. In essence, this is a terrifically well-intended and necessarily difficult movie to watch: but I’m not entirely convinced McQueen has delivered quite the masterpiece some would suggest it is.

Michael Bonner

Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner.

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In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery... 12 Years A Slave marks the big step-up for film director Steve McQueen, as he leaves behind hunger strikes and sex addicts for...12 Years A Slave