I have to admit that I have not been looking forward to seeing this, for the subject matter inevitably leads to viewer depression and guilt.  Misplaced guilt, perhaps, but guilt nonetheless.  My trepidation was absolutely realized; 12 Years a Slave is filled with abominable behavior, intolerable cruelty, heartrending injustice, inflammatory racism, conspicuous use of the n-word and dysfunctional characters.  It is difficult to watch and impossible to enjoy.

That said, it is probably the most important American film since Schindler’s List, to which it contains many parallels.  It is beautifully crafted, superbly acted and very sensitively directed, and it fulfills its high ambition by presenting a hellish situation in every vivid detail, asking viewers to react to its stunning verisimilitude.  What Steven Spielberg did with Schindler’s List, Steve McQueen has done with 12 Years a Slave.

Like Spielberg, McQueen directs with an eye for detail and an unflinching perspective. Like the scene where Solomon (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is nearly hung, and left in the noose for hours because no one dares to cut him down.  Or the shot when he burns a letter and McQueen keeps the camera on the embers until they gradually die out, just like Solomon’s dream of freedom.  Or the whipping of Patsey (Lupita Nyong’o), which only gets worse and worse the longer it lasts.  McQueen’s ending is a catharsis, like that of Schindler’s List, but without the sentimentality that Spielberg could not resist.

Lots of talk is circulating about the intent of this movie, whether McQueen is giving ammunition to blacks to hate whites for the (not so distant) past, or if this view of slavery is some sort of revisionist rewriting of history.  I think McQueen and writer John Ridley have found a sensational story in Solomon Northup’s tribulations (published in 1853!) and have produced a vivid recreation unapologetically designed to depict the culture as it was.  This isn’t a feel-good movie in any sense; characters do whatever they have to do to survive, and the oppression is omnipresent.

I cannot say I liked the film, just as I cannot say I liked the similar show of wickedness in Schindler’s List.  But I’ve never forgotten much of what I saw in 1993 and I doubt that I’ll forget much of this movie any time soon.  I appreciate what the film does, how it has been created and presented, and the basic importance of its message.  It is a lead contender for the upcoming Academy Awards, and with all due respect for the other contenders, I cannot see how any other film can match this one’s gravitas.  Last year was a really good year for movies, and 12 Years a Slave is 2013’s best movie.  ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆.  11 February 2014.