12 Years a Slave

This film is powerful and painful to view. If you are a history major, or a film buff, you should watch it anyway. Bring tissues.
Solomon Northrup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a freeman living his life, happily, in Saratoga, New York. It is 1841. He has a wife, Anne (Kelsey Scott) and two young children, Margaret (Quvenzhane Wallis) and Alonso (Cameron Ziegler). But then, everything changes. He meets two gentlemen, Brown and Hamilton (Scoot McNairy [from Argo] and Taran Killam) who praise his immense talents and offer him a sweet deal which will require him to travel to Washington D.C. which is in slave territory. He accepts their offer.
After a nice meal, Solomon wakes up in chains, wondering what has happened to him. In gradual flashbacks, he remembers and the viewers learn that something bad must have been in the wine at dinner, for it made him horribly drunk and ill. He doesn't have his free papers on him so they assume that he's a slave. It's America and it's 1841, of course they would. He is beaten into submission and taken by boat, along with some others to New Orleans where he is sold. Along the way, the two other freeman also captured, escape his fate. One dies while the other is rescued. It is just Solomon who is somehow given the name Platt and Eliza (Adepero Oduye), the mother of two young children, one is the daughter of her late master.
Enter the slave wheeler and dealer (Paul Giamatti). He separates mother from her children, though the buyer offers to buy the daughter, but Giamatti is unmoved. Eliza mourns horribly for her children. Solomon and Eliza are on the same plantation, owned by Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch). His wife (Liza J. Bennett), despite being a mother herself, shows no sympathy to Eliza over the loss of her children. "She'll get over them soon enough." Yet, she does not. She weeps openly and loudly, and nothing Solomon can say can get her to calm down. She is finally sold and Solomon does not stop it.
In the meanwhile, he chops wood and proves that he is started than the one overseer (Paul Dano). Solomon knows what he is doing but he stands up to Dano which does not end well. He is only as good as his instruction which leads Dano to pull out his whip but Solomon stands up for himself, fighting and whipping Dano himself. The viewer knows that this will not end well. And it doesn't. He is tied to a tree and nearly dies before Ford can rescue him. Though Ford is somewhat sympathetic, he knows that the overseers will be after Solomon, so Solomon is sold and his next chapter begins.
Epps (Michael Fassbender) is crazy. His wife (Sarah Paulson) is no better. They are nasty to each other as well but are crueler to the slaves. The only good thing about them is that they have no children, or if they do, God help those kids, they are never shown on screen. Here, Solomon picks cotton but never enough. Apparently, slaves are supposed to pick two hundred pounds per day. Patsey (Lupita Nyong'o) picks over five hundred pounds per day. She is Master Epps's favorite and his wife knows it, and tortures her greatly, scratching her face so bad it leaves scars. He also takes advantage of her, but then, when she goes to get some soap as his wife denies her such luxuries, he goes to beat her, though he fails because he does care for her, in some sick, perverted way, so he asks Solomon to beat her which he does reluctantly though becomes more willing after the threat of Epps killing every Negro in sight in made real. Epps takes over in a brutal scene that better cause everyone to cringe.
Solomon has his own problems. He believes that he can trust this white overseer, who is forced to live life similar to a slave, Armsby (Garrett Dillahunt) and gives him some money and asks him to send a letter to his family in New York, but Armsby betrays him and turns him over to Master Epps, but Solomon manages to convince Epps that it is all a lie. Somehow, miraculously, Epps believes him, thank goodness.
Finally, a helping hand is tossed his way. Brad Pitt finally makes his entrance. He is a kind Canadian carpenter named Bass who chews Epps out when Epps asks about his well-being but doesn't offer his property anything to drink. Later, Solomon confides in him, telling him the truth and despite the risks involved, Bass decides that he will write some letters on his behalf. This time, he actually keeps his word.
Solomon is rescued though Epps fights for him, saying that his property cannot be taken from him.
The last scene is heart-wrenching and tear inducing. He is finally back in New York and his family is waiting for him. He apologizes for his appearance. His adult daughter, Margaret (now Devyn A. Tyler) is the first to greet him. She introduces her husband (Willo Jean-Bapiste) and their infant son, named after him, and lets Solomon hold him. She tells him that there is nothing to forgive. I cry. People clap.
This is an amazing film. It is difficult to watch but it shows that people cannot function under a sick system. And questions arise? Is Epps truly mentally ill? I think so, forcing his property up in the middle of the night, and watching them dance in his house, but his wife is no better, looking on as this happens, feeding everyone something special, except for Patsey, whom she despises. Also noted, Epps would pick Patsey over his wife in a heartbeat. Does Patsey like Solomon? This one can be debated for some time. She must think highly of him. She asks him to to kill her by drowning because she doesn't have the guts to do it herself. He refuses, knowing it will be the death of him, and he's almost certainly right. She is also devastated and throws herself at him when he leaves. But for the most part, Solomon stays loyal to his wife and she stays loyal to him though she must have long given up hope that he was still alive.
Another reason to see the film is the acting, realistic and gritty. Ejiofor is a force of nature, playing the violin and letting the audience read his mind on his face, showing every single emotion possible. Devastation in the beginning when the berry ink doesn't work to write his letter. His heart just breaks. Patsey's spirit breaks when she is beaten into submission. Fassbender plays a sick bastard like no other. All three should receive Oscar nominations and currently, Ejiofor is the one to beat in the Best Actor category. Yet, the vast majority of these characters are also horribly wrong because slavery is wrong, despite whatever means needed to justify it, like scripture reading and believing that they are property. Even Solomon says that Ford is nice under the circumstances. And he's right, under the circumstances Ford is kind and honorable and just, but owning slaves is still wrong because it is owning another person. And Ford still owns other people.
This film also is realistic, including the sets, accents and violence, showing America part of its past that it hopes to forget. Cinematography, editing and score are equally as brilliant.
But the saddest part? Sure, Solomon tried to bring his kidnappers to justice, but because of the laws at the time, he couldn't even testify against them and then when he died, no one was there to record it. Who knows when, where or how he died. (My mom said this.) His life does not deserve to be forgotten. Luckily, this film will make that hard to do. Grade: A