12 Years A Slave is one of the hardest movies to watch you'll ever see

What: Movie Review
12 Years a Slave
When: December 23, 2013

Short Review:
It's a buzz this year for Oscar picks & Golden Globes. 12 Years A Slave, based on the novel and directed by Steve Mcqueen III, is a modern masterpiece.  The movie focuses on the fascinating life of Solomon Northrup, a free African American man living in New York who was sold into slavery in Washing in 1841 to 12 unthinkable years of slavery. 12 Years a slave is incredibly hard to watch. It's a reminder of the effects from Passion of the Christ. The film is insanely brutal and violent and should be cautioned by all before seeing the absurd horror that takes place. However, its an important piece of cinema that reflect on America's dark past and should be watched by all as a reminder of what life was like in the south pre Civil War times.

In Depth Review
Everything about the film is centered around the life of Solomon Northrup, who's brilliantly played by up and comer actor Chiwetel Ejiotor. He will no doubt get a nomination for this part. He plays the character to a T, and various times throughout the film, the audience is subjected to how much true emotion and suffering the character is going through simply by screen shots of the actor's face and expressions. The film also benefits from a strong cast who all play their parts exceptionally well and is produced by Brad Pitt's Plan B studios. Brad Pitt is also in a small but crucial part of the film and does a great job acting for the several minutes he's on screen. Other actors who do fine jobs as slave plantation owners or sellers are Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Giamatti and the obvious villain of the story Michael Fassbender.
Make no mistake. 12 years a slave is one of the most hardest films you'll ever see. At some parts of the movie the toughest movie goers will have to look away from the screen from the intense violence. It sends the watcher into darkness, however, with all that darkness, there is a bleep of hope at the end for poor Solomon. This film will become an important piece of American film history, and while it is hard to watch, it serves is purpose as a modern masterpiece in film making that's beautifully shot, directed and acted by everyone involved.
The only disadvantages of the film is that it is a bit too long, and some shots and scenes of the movie do not necessarily need to be included. However, those are minor details compared to the overall importance and greatness of 12 years a slave.

Grade:
4 out of 5 stars
A-