"Your story is amazing, and in no good way"

Hello Everyone :-)

I’ve spoken before about how much I like Steve McQueen but just to clarify, I love his films. Never one to shy away from hard subject matter the Artist-turned-Director is tackling the subject of slavery in his latest offering ’12 Years a Slave’.

This story has been adapted from a firsthand account of the same name, written by Solomon Northup. In 1841, Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a free black man working as a carpenter and fiddle player, and living with his wife and two children in Saratoga Springs, New York. Two travelling Circus performers (Scoot McNairy and Taran Killam) offer him a two-week job as a musician, but they drug Northup and he wakes up in chains before being sold into slavery.

The film follows Solomon as he is passed from the slave trader Theophilus Freeman (Paul Giamatti) to plantation owner William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch) and finally the Cotton Plantation owner Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender).

It is a horrific truth that up till a point in our history the western world thought it was acceptable for people to own other human beings. Every nation balks at the idea of holding a mirror up to themselves and facing their less than spotless past; the British never reflect on the horrors they inflicted in the name of the Commonwealth and the same can be said for the US and the Slave Trade. As misguided as Quentin Tarantino may have been when he claimed he wanted ‘Django Unchained’ to "start a conversation” about slavery I can see where he was coming from. It isn’t something that gets realistically shown on screen and it should be. This is where ’12 Years a Slave’ is so good; it works dramatically and historically.

Steve McQueen has produced another film that looks fantastic. It may not be for everyone but I find his signature visual style utterly captivating. Unflinching, sustained shots of acts of unimaginable brutality taking place amongst the day-to-day working of a plantation are excruciating but McQueen doesn't look away however much we want him to. His continual use of close up shots of his actors’ faces demonstrates the trust he has in his cast, letting their performances tell the story and tell it they do.

The cast is, without exception, brilliant. McQueen, yet again, brings a career best performance out of Michael Fassbender. In the hands of lesser talent Epps would have been a two dimensional villain but McQueen’s storytelling and Fassbender’s talent makes him a many-layered sadistic bastard. His scenes with Mary Epps (Sarah Paulson being brilliantly vindictive) are so tense you will be wincing in your seat.

Lupita Nyong'o is the film’s breakout star as the downtrodden object of her Master’s desire. I can’t praise her enough other than to say Patsey will break your heart.

The linchpin in this is the ever-wonderful Chiwetel Ejiofor. A fantastically versatile actor who's Northup is full of quiet dignity with a strength of character that leaves you speechless. Ejiofor doesn't have a massive amount of dialogue, instead conveying so much by using just his stance, his eyes, his gait; it is a truly stunning performance. 

You could (if you really wanted to) criticise the film for its portrayal of Solomon’s life pre-kidnap. Historically, even in the North, free black men and women would have had to deal with everyday racism. Northup said in the source material that he had to deal with the “obstacle of colour, and the consciousness of my lowly state” so it’s unlikely he’d have been as well regarded as the film depicts. I cannot, however, stress to you how much of a minor point this is.

It’s also been said that the film has been designed purely to “engender white guilt” which I think is completely ridiculous and an insult to what is an exceptional piece of work.

People go to the movies for all kinds of reasons but I feel that anyone with an interest in cinema, politics, drama, literature or history should see ’12 Years a Slave’. The subject matter is such that this could never be described as an enjoyable experience but this isn’t a case of wanting; this is a case of needing. This story needs to be seen. You couldn’t (and shouldn’t) watch things like this all the time, you’d be crushed by the weight of it all, but every now and again we need to.

McQueen has added to his already impressive body of work with the harrowing, all-consuming, utterly devastating ’12 Years a Slave’; dramatically, historically, politically and emotionally, this film is brilliant in so many ways. Whether or not it will pick up any of the Oscars for which it has been nominated remains to be seen, but to me it’s already a winner. If there is a better film than this released in 2014 I will be very surprised. See it now.

Right, it's time for...

Reasons to be Cheerful :-)

1. The ever-wonderful Paul Bettany has been signed up to 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' as something other than J.A.R.V.I.S. Bettany looks set to play 'The Vision' an android created by the titular Ultron. With Ultron being played by James Spader, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olson and now Paul Bettany being added to the expanding Marvel movie  roster, it looks like it's going to be a good one :-)

2. Ben Wheatley news! So not only is the excellent Mr Wheatley directing two episodes of the new, Capaldi lead 'Doctor Who' but he's also confirmed the amazing Tom Hiddleston for his next film 'High Rise'! Ben Wheatley is one of my favourite British Directors working today, his 'Who' episodes will definitely be different but I'm so looking forward to it. Also, Wheatley and Hiddleston? Hell YES!

3. Trailer Time! This won't be for everyone but I think it looks fantastic. From the mind of Terry Gilliam 'The Zero Theorem' is about  a reclusive computer genius working on a formula to determine whether life holds meaning. Needless to say, as part of a thematic trilogy with 'Brazil' and '12 Monkeys' 'The Zero Theorem' looks like it's going to be crackers but I'm a fan of envelope pushing sci-fi, especially when it's starring Christoph Waltz, Ben Whishaw, Mélanie Thierry (brilliant in 'The Princess of Montpensier), David Thewlis, Tilda Swinton and Matt Damon.

4. And finally the most awesome bit of news I've heard in forever, 'Back to the Future' is being turned into a musical.

That's all for today!

Goodbye till next time :-)

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