No Rating
When I first began writing this column, I faced the issue of compiling a formula in which I’d be able to award films a score out of four. Films that elicit a perfect score are in no way perfect. Instead, movies that are worth watching – films that contain a deep or profound message, unparalleled acting, and camera work worthy of praise – are awarded higher scores.
With Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, I am yet again forced to reconsider my marking scheme. In every sense of the word, McQueen’s latest film is astonishing. Acting, camera work, directing, lighting, story and music combine into a production that haunts and mesmerizes its audience. However, McQueen has in no way produced a “good” movie; his film is brutal, savage, cowardly, horrifying, and an image of a worse time. That I refuse to give it a rating is not a testament of anything it does wrong, but rather of everything it does right.
Opening with a single take through a cane field, the audience is introduced to Solomon Northrop (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) in the throes of inhuman captivity. As we follow a brief day in his life, we see him working in cane fields, eating paltry portions, and struggling to find solace in sleep. Northrop is a freeman, born out of captivity and forced into slavery after being tricked by two men. As we’re informed, Solomon’s story was not a rare occurrence in America at the time. A ban on importing slaves from Africa forced slave-owners and would-be profiteers to embark on quests to enslave freemen from the North.
Stoic acting by Ejiofor is enough to give the audience hope that his story ends well, though John Ridley’s script insists on proving otherwise. There is not a single moment of satisfactory catharsis in Northrop’s story. As his life is catapulted from one tragic situation to another, we see the people around him break down under the horrors of their circumstances. Northrop, however, does not, and his hope and insistence on the possibility of justice allows him to survive.
Unlike similar characters, the audience finds no vitality in Northrop’s choice to continue. McQueen’s directing forces Sean Bobbitt’s camera to capture each horrifying moment in exquisite detail. Furthermore, Bobbitt’s cinematography uses Northrop’s energy – his explosive control – to frame each scene Ejiofor dominates. The audience is exhausted throughout the film’s second act, but Northrop perseveres.
I made the point that there is no satisfying moment of catharsis in 12 Years a Slave. There is no single moment where the audience is allowed a chance to recover. Much like Northrop, we’re forced to watch life fall apart with our eyes fixated, and there is little control we can exert. To make the claim that this is a film about the horrors of slavery is to ignore each moment of brutal savagery that has existed before and after it.
The message that I believe McQueen hopes to impart upon his audience is that there is brutality in the world. It is difficult to argue that 12 Years a Slave is a film about hope, as there is very little hope within its story. Instead, it is a story about the brutal nature of man, and the terror that emerges from those in powerful positions preying upon those who are not. That the villains in McQueen’s film are not always weak men is a commentary on tyranny, which is born from fear and superstition.
Praise must be awarded to both Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong’o for their portrayals of Edwin Epps and Patsey, respectively. Nyong’o was recently awarded the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and I agree with the academy’s decision. Her portrayal of Patsey is a woman framed by suffering and hatred. Fassbender received a Best Supporting Actor nomination, but failed to claim the prize. His Epps is brutal and savage, and a constant reminder of the unfair way in which strong men appropriate strength. That he suffers no justice is simply a reminder of the film’s refusal to abandon history.
I refuse to award 12 Years a Slave any form of rating, because a score would be disrespectful on my part. I cannot argue that it is a good movie by any means, but I can make the point that it is a film that must be watched. To the faint of heart, I offer this warning: There is no happy ending.