12 Years a Slave

This review may contain spoilers.

This film is a masterpiece and sets a high bar for what a movie should strive to be I feel. I would give 12 Years a Slave a 9/10.

This movie is a perfectly written masterpiece that knows exactly how to manipulate it's audience's emotions as well as analyse the period of racial injustice that was the era of slavery in the United States. The pacing for this film was very well done I have to add. The music is very moving, giving a lot of power to the film. More than that the cinematography in this is clever, the long lingering shots on moments that are truly appalling get under your skin in all the right ways.

Chiwetel Ejiofor, who played Solomon Northup, was fantastic and one of the best displays of acting I have ever seen. Paul Giamatti, who played Freeman, was incredibly sleazy and someone you immediately disliked but had intriguing screen presence. Benedict Cumberpatch, who played Ford, I hated liking but he was nice as far as having an immoral quality to him went. Michael Fassbender, who played Edwin Epps, was despicable and just foul and I hated every minute of him; but the acting was perfect. Sarah Paulson, who played Mistress Epps, was on par with Fassbender when she was on screen; she had ice in her that was for sure. Lupita Nyong'o, who played Patsey, was just terrific and by far had such a terribly difficult role to play and she excelled at it; in fact where she is left by the end of this story is one of the most heart breaking things about it. Brad Pitt, who played Bass, was a character of convenient good fortune who made me quite happy but who I never really believed existed so much as his ideology existed.

Frankly the only thing I really disliked about this film was Paul Dano, who played Tibeats, he was unexceptional and didn't really amaze me in acting it was really the strong script and cast around him that carried this actor.

Frankly 12 Years a Slave has set my bar for what is the best movie that I've seen so far in 2014.