Mark Kermode reviews 12 years a Slave

[@wajsyed]

Now that is a review.

[@jonny5779]

Mark's face at the start of his review tells you exactly what he thought, and what the film did to him emotionally...its devastating😢💔

[@MrAkashvj96]

Chiwetel Ejiofor's performance in this movie was haunting and mesmerizing.

[@kia2065]

Akash Vijay should’ve gotten the Oscar for best actor

[@65g4]

@@kia2065 it was great not as great as matthews in dallas buyers club

[@MattCipolla]

This is a very tough filmgoing experience, but it's a mandatory one. All of the performances are immaculate and the direction is exquisite, creating and extremely but appropriately emotionally draining film. It has no rewatch value and it intermediately drags for a total of about 20 minutes, but I was invested the whole time. I'm also usually quite cynical, but the content here never felt exploitative or masturbatory; it was all justified. And with that, I was crying for about half of the time, starting from about five minutes in. It's so well made that I felt tired and wiped out leaving the theater. It's extremely rare that I would see this again, but it does have to be seen. All of the acting has to been seen to believe. It just barely missed my Best of 2013 list (it opened here in America last October) but it was a very strong honorably mention. 9/10, amazing, two thumbs up, far above average, etc.

[@ClusterFoxtrot]

First time in a long time I've really found myself rooting for a film to sweep the Oscars. Just an absolutely phenomenal piece of art which stands out so clearly from the generic bile pumped out en masse by Hollywood.

[@bluefilmsltd]

I can listen to Mark talk all day.

[@johnPaul-qn3dg]

I seen it a week ago and I am still thinking about it. The music, the beautiful scenery the actors faces and the way it was all put together, it is as if you are watching it live and for real. The film haunts you in a good way, I would compare it to Lawrence of Arabia which was also a masterpiece and had that same effect. I think Mark's review is spot on, but I also mention Sarah Paulson who played Micheal Fassbinders wife. She played the role of the southern belle with an arrogant chilling malevolence, of the dirt that were the slaves so well, I ended up hating her more then the psychotic cruel role fassbinder played. For anyone who loves film this film is a benchmark you have to see it..

[@FalconPunch256]

"That storytelling, now that is storytelling" Best comment I've heard about it yet

[@Esi153]

This review really sums up how I feel about this film. When I walked out of the cinema the first thing I said was that Steve McQueen was a magnificent storyteller. I also thought that when I watched "Hunger" and "Shame". This was shot brilliantly and the acting was superb. - I'm totally in awe.

[@TimeLimey]

Yeah it was brilliant. Those longer shots on Chiwetel Ejiofor's face, seeing him with that 'WTF?' look was fantastic.

[@Biring1]

Great review, Mark! Remember I got goosebumps during the "Roll, Jordan, roll"-scene

[@bbkingzor]

HrTjernobyl Also when Northup finally gets home and introduced to his grandchild who he learns is named Solomon after him - when he asks "Solomon?" and smiles understanding that they named their child after him, the heart melts.

[@Biring1]

bbkingzor Yes, great scene! Should see this one again, only caught a shitty screener a year and a half ago.

[@RealEuanGilmour]

Saw it today. Brilliant film. It's a harrowing watch but the cast and crew should all be proud. They've made a real gem.

[@BarronBrothersFilms]

Always lovely to come home on a Friday and watch such great reviews.

[@jakegibbard]

We studied this in school, so I'm really looking forward to this

[@thecrazyoneism]

It's a film that's beautiful to look at looking at the cinematography and the scenery, but is absolutely horrific to watch. Absolutely brilliant.

[@trecordingshere]

Fassbender deserved oscarrr

[@harrypmay]

A brilliant film and a great review. Personally I enjoyed Hunger and Shame more but 12 Years a Slave tells a story that needs to be heard and I am very happy it is getting the attention it rightfully deserves. As Kermode said Chiwetel Ejiofor gives an astounding performance as Solomon Northup and engrosses the audience into him (Solomon.) I'm not sure if it's my favourite film of 2013 (2014) but it will definitely stay with me for many years. I really hope this film is showed in schools and colleges in years to come as well, so the next generations understand about the atrocities that happened as slavery is a stain on humanity as much as the Holocaust is.

[@dennispotter4236]

Hunger was as important a film as 12 Years is. The trouble with Hunger is many can't get past the fact that Bobby Sands was a Republican 'terrorist'. I think an African/British film maker doing a film about Republican prisoners is more comment worthy that a British film maker doing a film about American slavery. Perhaps there will be a time when the UK comes to terms with what happened in Northern Ireland the way America is trying to come to terms with slavery. Sorry, not invalidating your comment at all, just throwing another angle on it.

[@ChubbyChecker182]

Shame and Hunger were great movies

[@GoldenGyroBalls]

Wish I saw this when it was playing at the states. It looks absolutely incredible.

[@pchamney]

It'll be in more U.S. theatres again soon. Keep an eye on listings. I did see it already, and it doesn't disappoint.

[@thehitchrules]

Beautifully critiqued Mark.

[@olderloverxx]

I also as Mark mentioned felt somewhat ashamed I had not read or heard of the book. My historical knowledge is average at best, but you would have thought Northups book would have been part of the curriculum at school for anyone under 16. Still. There you go. This is an amazing review and a film that shook me to the core. When the credits roll and i feel numbed, mind racing, like a blow to my soul - that for me is a true movie experience.

[@gedrooney9305]

Still thinking about the film since seeing it, therefore it did its job. A fine piece of filmmaking although I wish McQueen wouldn't use emotive music, he uses the camera well enough to engage the emotions-a minor criticism however.

[@knifeofdunwall]

I thought the music was beautifully understated and subtle.

[@gedrooney9305]

He uses very similar music in all three of his films-well all three being Hunger, Shame and 12 years- it worked in Hunger because it was used in a dream sequence towards the end, I forget about Shame but for me it was unnecessary in 12 years because of the subject matter, that alone is powerful enough not to have emotive music, but that's just me- I prefer the realism of his films-the hanging scene in 12yrs, the long take of Fassbender running in Shame etc etc, I don't need reminding that its an emotional scene by music. ANYHOW.....I need to watch it again that's certain, In hope he continues to add to his fine body of work, he's up there with Lars Von trier-well almost, he's a progressive filmmaker and that's a grand thing in my eyeballs x

[@ThisIsFitz]

Great review. I seen it a month ago and I still think about how amazingly hard the movie hit me. Did anybody else have everybody in the cinema being eerily silent after the film?

[@JoshyyLT3]

God, that hanging scene is brutal.

[@MaritimeWolf]

I know why they did it, but it doesn't make it less difficult to watch. As Kermode said, it was such a peculiar contrast between the horror and the beauty. Difficult to digest it...

[@jorisvdh]

1841 is fairly recent in Europe and Britain, but to Americans it's ages ago.

[@Auntkekebaby]

All of McQueen's work is substance. It appears to be style, but it's not. It's the truth about humanity. His work helps me empathize and to forgive myself. It's letting truth guide/direct the scene ...the choices. No side is neglected. Kermode, I don't always agree with you, but when you're on, you're on.

[@joshb2410]

Brilliant review! Thought the film was absolutely phenomenal.

[@Group51]

Bravo

[@joshbarton6376]

Quite possibly my favourite review from Kermode, very apt for such an incredibly powerful film.

[@Phoneybeetlemaniacxs]

Saw it today I thought it was extraordinary.. While I hate people who say x will be the best film I say this year. You know what I doubt I will see a film I was touched by. the scenes of Chiwetel Ejiofor were superb I mean he says little in some scenes yet you are magnetised. I think Chiwetel has an Oscar in his future but hey its Oscars theya re beholden to golden globes pharisaic group of nitwits to quote the good dctor.

[@Tom_W_Jones]

X is pretty good though.

[@chawalwalachawalwala1343]

[@Presidentofmyhandbag]

Top review for a truly great piece of film making.

[@GeneralBulldog54]

The best movie I can't watch again

[@nicmafia]

saw this last night and wow, was amazed. beautifully shot and some outstanding performances all round. if the boring and frankly bland "american hustle" gets more acclaim than this is would be tragic

[@hassanilahi909]

while I wouldn't call "American Hustle" bland and boring, none of the films at the Oscars this year shined as brightly as "12 Years a Slave". It simply HAD to win...

[@petertyson2]

Watched it this morning, excellent film that is tough to watch at times but is also rewarding. It is a film that certainly stays with you.

[@chrishiggins7166]

The film is emotionally captivating, masterfully directed, written, acted & accurate & is overall A nomination for one of 2013’s best films. (95%) (5/5 stars) (positive)

[@philhanson380]

I just felt that the pacing was all off for me - I didn't feel like 12 years had passed, the only indication that that amount of time had passed was the age of his family when he got home

[@dagnut]

Exactly the point I was making, either it was lost in editing or McQueen got it wrong

[@lexxandera]

I always thought that "12 years a slave" is the film that "django" was not...

[@Onmysheet]

It kind of puts Django to shame.

[@Cacophonaut]

+Onmysheet I kinda disagree. To me its a bit like the difference between, say, the novels Catch 22 and Empire of the Sun. Same subject, but the latter is quite a serious and powerful examination of human nature while the former is a warped nightmare of pure irony. If I'm honest, I prefer Django as a film. I love how it revels in bad taste and absurdity. I've certainly watched it more often than 12 Years since it came out.

[@GregLTravis]

Yes sir! You are the only critic I totally agree with 90% of the time. It's amazing.

[@aigtban]

Mayo loves to interrupt Kermode, but when he's really digging deep, he just lets him talk.

[@somrazy3]

Excellent review!

[@EndureTheBurn]

one flaw in that movie...Brad Pitt, awful performance.

[@alexmeyer5260]

Jack McCullough Not for me.

[@Onmysheet]

Wasn't awful, just average and out of place. You don't see the character he's playing, you just see Brad Pitt.

[@alexmeyer5260]

Onmysheet I strongly disagree.

[@joshbainbridge5086]

EndureTheBurn really?

[@nottingham_ChrisAllison]

I disagree.. Brad is awesome ..even if its just for a few minutes.. he has mojo

[@espukr]

I think I've yet to agree with Mark on any of the movies he praises no end. This is no exception. I'll continue to listen to 'wittertainment' because it is entertaining but I'll presume anything he praises is not necessarily that good. This movie was just a bunch of stereotypes and clichés... Lynchings, evil slave owner lusting after the young black girl, sadistic overseer... haven't we seen all this before? AND above all, I know that slavery is evil and caused an untold amount of suffering. Unfortunately I'm getting the impression that without this movie people just don't know? Surely it's rather sad that we need Hollywood to point out how bad slavery is/was? Perhaps slavery should be taught about in schools alongside the holocaust.

[@gfygfy9512]

Literally every movie is about a story you have heard before. I can think of a handful of mafia movies; *_Scarface, Godfather 1, 2, 3, Gotti, A Bronx Tale, Casino etc._* Spy movies; *_Bond, Bourne & MI, Munich, Kingsman, Spy Game, Lives of others, The Good Shepard, Salt, Atomic Blonde etc._* War movies that doesn't touches Holocaust. *_Dunkirk, Braveheart, Das Boot, Fury, Black Hawk Down, The Patriot, Saving Private Ryan, Inglorious Bastards, Downfall._* Or SCI-FI movies; *_Robocop, Avatar, Back to the Future, Matrix, Alien, Blade Runner, Edge of Tomorrow, Inception, Snowpiercer, Star Wars, Star Trek & Terminator._* Or of 20 drama, superhero, horror or love comedy movies too. I can't name that many popular slave movies actually.. _Amistad, 12 Years a Slave & Django U.*_ Aren't you just angry that this is about a topic you think Hollywood is trying to bash the West with aka 'White Guilt'.. But should Hollywood make a ton of movies about Japan colonizing Korea? Or about the kings & queens of Nepal? Why? Most americans & westernes overall aren't from there and it has nothing to do with Western culture. Do you think Vietnamese makes a lot of movies about Germany or Uganda?! No because it's not their culture or history. Slavery, Titanic or the Moon is just the setting/frame of the story, but _'the'_ story is what matters and you could take the story and put it in another frame if you wanted to. You could have taken Rose & Jack from Titanic, set them in the 1890s France, with Rose being the daughter of a french aristocratic diplomat family and Jack being a poor french drifter.. Or go even futher back to the Napoleonic Wars.. Northup could also have been a boy losing his parents and brought to a foster home in the 1950s where he would have been mistreated as well. Or a free man in the 1990s locked up for something he didn't do and also being mistreated there. Sure the frame is important and is used to drive the plot forward, but the story can always be set in another frame. The frame also reminds us about our past - which is important or else we will forget. Or do you seriously believe it's not important to keep reminding ourselves about what happened in the past? I think and we do that with art. Societies that doesn't do this usually has a lot of problems and taboos. But how would you tell a story we haven't heard before and in a setting we haven't seen before either? You would have to be a genius to create that. You are always free to make your own movie scripts and send them to directors etc.

[@robnewman6101]

The Drama of a so Tragic Period time in America!

[@burkezillar]

I've heard that there have been a lot of cases in America where people have walked out half way through the film because they can't handle the subject. Does anyone know if this is true or not?

[@pchamney]

I don't know about the numbers. I've heard more about people crying. I think it's safe to say that the film's intensity is more the issue, with people who may have needed to go gather themselves. The subject is obvious enough from the title. I found it difficult to watch at times, but am very glad I saw it.

[@lloydgriffiths7111]

I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case, with one scene in particular coming to mind. But for me, I'd argue such responses to some of the visceral sequences would be because they are so subtly and superbly linked to the story and all the more upsetting as emotional horror is tethered so closely to the scenes of physical horror. Certainly no torture-porn as one prominent critic suggested.

[@pchamney]

Lloyd Griffiths Michael Burke Lloyd makes good points. There wasn't anything that I found gratuitous, in terms of the difficult parts. All serve the story, and IMO are integral to its importance as a whole.

[@miiiikku]

Because sometimes you can get your money back if you walk out of the theatre. Maybe some people just go see movies randomly and walk away if they don't find it interesting.

[@pucktweety]

I know this comment is old but I work in a cinema in the UK and we didn't have a night that goes by without someone walking out at a certain scene. It's pretty violent.

[@matrags]

Slightly anticlimactic ending I felt.

[@neilpemberton5523]

I know. But imho not a bad thing. If justice was served Solomon would have come home to a heroes welcome, having survived 12 years of hell for the sake of being with his loved ones again. But in the 1850s black people were victims of racism in the North as well, so his return is low key. Abolitionists even in the North were not widely liked because everyone knew war was a possible outcome of their lobbying. So ending with the painful sorrow of 12 lost years along with the muted joy of the family reunion was just right.

[@iPonderonthis]

I'm not white nor black, I'm a man who thought this was a hype film, why are some clinging onto this adamant need that this was some great masterpiece. The film goer is the best critic. The lead character is a good actor, But I found the film too familiar in the grand scheme of slavery, unnecessarily debauch, it just passes by. 6.4/10. Django!

[@davidfgranger]

Great film, apart from when **** **** turns up near the end.

[@johnPaul-qn3dg]

Yeah why did he do that? I am a B Pitt fan he has the gravitas of an A lister and he can act. So for such a tiny role it felt to me he was making a guest appearance to add his name to the title. To me it was a distraction to an already engrossing tale. He is one of the executive producers so it may not have been up to McQueen. A minor critiscism to a master work.

[@landondonovanify]

***** Yeah hes a producer, and helped the film get made basically. So I guess that's a massively good thing so I'm not bothered by his cameo

[@manicpreacher1566]

I think he done effectively his part to remain us it's all our duty to ensure that every man is equally free. And not just another man's property to do with as he wishes. Maybe that's why he wanted to take on this role. Because he believes so strongly in this principle.

[@geoffschannel94]

He plays a character in the film, the fact that he's a big star shouldn't affect his ability to act in a film

[@johnPaul-qn3dg]

Ryan Kenwrick The feeling I got, the film is so slickly directed that you felt you were an observer on the ground which really engrossed you into the film. But when he came along I said oh look Brad Pitt, as Ryan Kenwrick posted, I didn't see his character just the star. Those brief cameo roles are usually effective in comedy spoofs which are not meant to be series or engrossing.

[@dagnut]

Good film BUT for a film called 12 years a slave I didn't think it gave a good sense of time passing.

[@dwibs93]

Yeah. It felt like it took place over the course of 3 weeks, not 12 years.

[@alexmeyer5260]

I think the goal was to make it look like time had blurred. It certainly worked. I think the last thing Steve McQueen wanted was to put captions saying "1 year later, 5 years later," etc. on the screen.

[@dagnut]

Alex Meyer I understand that, I didn't want captions just some simple aging of the characters. 12 years is a significant enough period time to alter someone's appearance especially someone subjected to slavery ,malnutrition and regular beatings . I wasn't expecting Chiwetel Ejiofor to be in prosthetic make up, walking with a cane and hunch back ,that but the suffering of the protagonist is obviously linked to the period of time he spent as a slave, hence the name. **spoiler** when he meets his family at the end it just seemed to have transitioned to quickly. Maybe it was due to the fact that his children were not introduced as characters at the beginning , consequently seeing them as adults didn't have the same effect it should have had. We didn't even get a brief reflection of their loss over that time period

[@wesmatron]

Since Kermode knows so much about what makes a good or bad film, why doesn't he try making one so we can all watch it then tell him how we'd have done it differently?

[@SK-yn1fn]

Because he's a film critic not a film maker

[@wesmatron]

@@SK-yn1fn Yes, instead of creating something, he can only tell other people what they should think about a creation. He's a waste of Oxygen.

[@SK-yn1fn]

@@wesmatron yes, that's the concept of criticism. You seem to be suggesting there's no place for that. Which is ridiculous.

[@wesmatron]

@@SK-yn1fn Your statement has no value.

[@SK-yn1fn]

@@wesmatron if you think that way you're a lost cause

[@dennisdahmer]

should a film critic look away from scenes for personal reasons?, i think not, i don't, i put the goal of an accurate overview first before my flinchings/qualms, watching every second of every film i watch, good or bad

[@JulieMidsTV]

I don't understand the hype here. It's a good enough film, no doubt, but this level of adulation? Good acting, good enough screen play, but film of the year? And why all the shock? Didn't we all know what racism is like? Haven't we seen similar scenes, and worse in other films? Watch 'The Grey Zone' for worse atrocity, greater evil, and the ultimate consequence of race hatred. I guess if it helps the USA to face up to its past, that's a good thing. I'm all for raising consciousness. But for me, it's just another decent film.

[@snomelc920J]

Every Movie isnt made for everyone, youre entitled to your opinion. But it was more than descent in my opinion.

[@thomasyoung3268]

I've not seen it, but I think I'll come away with the same sentiment as Julie. I'm rarely wrong in looking at a trailer or a review to know exactly what kind of film it'll be and how much I'm going to enjoy it.

[@snomelc920J]

Better than descent but nothing really new in regards to the subject matter, I can tell you that much.

[@alexmeyer5260]

It deserved all the hype it got, because while 12 Years A Slave is not the first film to depict slavery, but it shows elements that other films have been afraid to show, such as how many slave owners sexually abused their slaves in addition to physically abusing them, and how they often forced their slaves to do their dirty work for them, such as the scene where Edwin Epps forces Solomon to whip Patsey, before he does it himself.

[@alexmeyer5260]

Jack Reilly Really? So all the critics who had it on their best films of 2013 list and the Oscar voters who voted for it to win Best Picture are all wrong?

[@ChubbyChecker182]

Steve McQueen has gone black ? Sherlock had slaves ? Haha, only making funny.. Very good movie, some stunning scenes, just not quite as great as I was hoping (I thought Hunger and Shame were fantastic, actually better films), I would put Gravity just ahead for the Oscars myself, as that was the one movie that felt special to me this year

[@blamedamage39]

gravity is rubbish

[@Kevo216666]

+ogfunk187 Thank you.

[@eliafqreink805]

If not for Django Unchained this movie would have never seen day light

[@TheLonesomeChef]

very stupid. They were in development concurrently and were made pretty much made at the same time.

[@eliafqreink805]

+TheLonesomeChef No. Django was filmed Nov 2011 to march 2012, released in December 2012. 12 years a slave was filmed Jun to Aug 2012, released Nov 2013.

[@TheLonesomeChef]

So that means that 12 Years a Slave was already filmed and in post-production before Django was even released, right?

[@eliafqreink805]

+TheLonesomeChef But Hollywood knew that a Tarantino movie on the issue is about to be released.

[@TheLonesomeChef]

Now you're reaching. 12 Years was happening regardless of Django existing or not.

[@KenyaReneetheProducer]

Great job ! Coming soon. "Deacon's Choice." A must see film of 2014. Support filmmakers doing big things. #deaconschoice #deaconschoicemovie https:\\www.deaconschoicemovie kzbin.info/www/bejne/nWHRemRpj6t_n5Y

[@richardmurphy9006]

Brad Pitt Huffs Donkey Farts

[@FRZRYTBFRZ]

Trop de soufraance😳😳😳😳😳

[@thomHD]

A good film but safe and instantly forgettable. Django Unchained, based on originality and temerity, was a better film (but with one too many jokes to make Best Picture).

[@alexmeyer5260]

Safe and instantly forgettable?! I've only seen this movie once, and I still remember everything about it!!! It's one of the best films I've ever seen. Mark's profile on Rotten Tomatoes shows this film as one of the few he's given a 5 out of 5 star rating to.

[@thomHD]

Alex Meyer I'm very wary of the fact that, each year, there are drama films that deal with the serious big issues but play everything safe, do nothing out of the ordinary, and inspire almost honorary positive reactions from both critics and the public, while actually offering nothing beyond exceptional. I think it's actually far more challenging to make a 5-star comedy or horror film. Granted, TYAS was well above average, but it was never surprising and played everything straight down the middle. It's bolstered by the strange fact there have been so few slavery films up until now. If we lived in a alternative world where films about slavery were common, we might view TYAS as a little bit run of the mill. As it stands I'd rank it somewhere below To Kill a Mocking Bird and Django Unchained, but above Amistad.

[@MULTIVERSARIAN]

Alright. The white man WAS guilty. Is the movie to entertain,to inform, or to rekindle anger in the hearts of Black Americans? Or so that Black Americans can "relive" the horrific treatment of their ancestors by the notorious White Man? It's becoming a lucrative theme to make a lot of money for the Jewish Hollywood. They run out of themes. Now they are after the blacks, because blacks go to the movies in record numbers if the movie is about an African American or slavery for that matter. Proof: Django Unchained, The Butler, 12 Years of Slavery, etc. The white man is NOT guilty of slavery that ended 150+ years ago. The ''Statute of Limitations'' has passed.

[@RascoHeldall]

Overrated, tedious, sentimental hogwash.

[@harrypmay]

A film based on a first person account of slavery is bound to be sentimental. How can you not be? If you were kidnapped, beaten and forced to work I highly doubt you'd be humble about the experience.

[@RascoHeldall]

@@harrypmay Still haven’t seen it.🙄

[@struanmurray2291]

Why isn't it as well known as Anne Frank? Because it's not true, Mark. It's a collection of lies. Still good film though

[@Hutchyy]

How do you know it's a "collection of lies"?

[@zsht]

Lost so much respect for Kermode as a result of this review. Clearly fell into the guilt/horror of real events trap. Shockingly poorly told film about a story which deserved better.

[@mourasantos]

Horrible film. Its only saving grace was Pompita, or whatever her name is. Brad Pitt? Lol.

[@BonnotAR]

Situations103 horrible movie lol? how so besides the subject matter? it was well written, well acted, well shot and well directed.

[@mourasantos]

Sean Ryan it's isn't so much a movie as a series of anachronistic shock-fests designed to bully the audience into feeling something, despite never doing anything to earn it. Brad Pitt's character is the most embarrassing deus ex machina I've seen in a major film in the last twenty or os years.

[@Discojericho]

Situations103 I dont think is a case of deus ex machina if it actualy happened in real life and if you consider to think that it was 12 god damn years until Brad Pitt's caracter met him.Now if it was 12 hours as a slave and then boom Brad Pitt id agree with you

[@mourasantos]

Manea Andrei the historicity of the subject matter and what makes for good viewing are two entirely separate things. When real life runs counter to entertainment value, that's when artistic liberties should be taken.

[@Discojericho]

Situations103 What people find entertaining is one of the most subjective things out there,I would have found Lincoln more entertaining with giant robots but it would have also had less value because of the historical inaccuracy.Thing is the movie accomplished in doing wanted,and did a great job at it,at least i think so and i don't mind defending that statement.I cant defend its entertaining value for that is personal and not for me to chose.

[@TurkElaneE]

This is literally the worst movie I have ever seen, I seriously don’t understand the praise

[@matthewjay3229]

what a boring movie