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| Fox Searchlight Pictures |
With each passing year come the annual historical dramas,
some dealing with smaller autobiographical struggles, like The King’s Speech, others tackling larger generational events, like
Letters from Iwo Jima. They vary in subject and in scope, but their sense
of prestige is a relative constant. However,
in the past several years I cannot think of a drama as powerful, as epic, and
perhaps even as important as Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave. Retelling
the shockingly true writings of Solomon Northup, a free black man from New York
who was abducted and sold into slavery during the 1840’s, the film presents the
age with an unfiltered sense of sadness and rage, the monsters that preserved
it and the people that miraculously endured.
It is by no means an easy film to watch, but it is a necessary one, telling
the remarkable story of a survivor as well as serving a just indictment of one
of America’s darkest periods. Unlike
other recent dramas, which often fade from view after awards season has ended, 12 Years a Slave has undoubtedly made an
unforgettable and memorable mark on cinema.
