Based on the true story of Solomon Northup, Steve McQueen's harrowing dramatisation is a handsomely produced and almost impeccably performed affair that, ultimately, suffers from a lack of purpose.


Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Solomon, a free man living with his wife and children in upstate New York, who is abducted and sold into slavery. His gruelling experience takes him, at first, into the ownership of Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch) who takes a liking to Solomon, but an alteraction with one of his workers Tibeats (Paul Dano) forces him to move Solomon on to Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender).


It is at Epps' cotton plantation that Solomon is witness to the most banal cruelty, spurred on by Epps' longings for his favoured slave Patsey (Lupita Nyong'o), flaunting his lustfulness in the face of his wife Mary (Sarah Paulson).


Northup's first hand account of his experience, kidnapped and trafficked into slavery, enables the film to depict the casual violence and hatred of the era in a blunt and brutal manner. But, more than the torture, it is the attitudes of the time that are most interesting, with Epps believing it is permitted by the Bible for man to keep slaves, whislt the timid, nervous "goodness" of Ford is intriguing. There are glimpses here and there, of the strange relationships that certain slaves would develop with their owners in order to allay their ordeals. Whilst, late in the film, Northup meets a carpenter who is vehemently and confidently opposed to slavery.


Perhaps due to Northup's general stoicism, his story - though beautifully played by Ejiofor, who since I saw him in Dirty Pretty Things I've been a huge fan of - is only interesting in regards to the audience's desire to see him succeed and escape. More fascinating and heart-wrenching is Patsey's, how she is favoured, how at times she allows herself to seemingly revel in it, and what she - in the film's most tragic scene - asks of Northup.


Likewise, earlier in the film his treatment of Eliza (Adepero Oduye) creates an interesting dynamic, in that you want him to give in to his emotions (like she does), you want the film to be an open, raw, pained howl. Instead it is an oddly flat, distanced experience, enabling the viewers to seperate themselves from the time and think; "Wasn't it bad back then." Rather than consider how any of this might resonate or offer insight into ongoing concerns. Oddly whilst the film is a expertly made document of a time, it is one that has been created with such a fine aesthetic that it feels a little too polished and safe to resonate - a cosy horrorshow.


Whilst this is a compelling and, thanks to the cast, stirring film, there is something strangely hollow, something a little unsatisfying in the completeness and packaging of Northup's ordeal that doesn't seem entirely addressed by the film itself.

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