12 Years a Slave

3.60
    12 Years a Slave
    2013

    Synopsis

    In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty as well as unexpected kindnesses Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.

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    Cast

    • Chiwetel EjioforSolomon Northup
    • Michael FassbenderEdwin Epps
    • Lupita Nyong'oPatsey
    • Benedict CumberbatchWilliam Ford
    • Paul DanoJohn Tibeats
    • Sarah PaulsonMary Epps
    • Adepero OduyeEliza
    • Scoot McNairyBrown
    • Paul GiamattiTheophilus Freeman
    • Brad PittSamuel Bass

    Recommendations

    • 100

      IndieWire

      More than a powerful elegy, 12 Years a Slave is a mesmerizing triumph of art and polemics: McQueen turns a topic rendered distant by history into an experience that, short of living through the terrible era it depicts, makes you feel as if you've been there.
    • 100

      Variety

      Though the film brims with memorable characters, the show ultimately belongs to Ejiofor, who upholds the character’s dignity throughout.
    • 100

      The Guardian

      Stark, visceral and unrelenting, 12 Years a Slave is not just a great film but a necessary one.
    • 100

      The Telegraph

      Elicits from McQueen a directing job that's compellingly humble but also majestic, because his radical showmanship is turned to such precise, human purposes.
    • 100

      Time

      A document that is raw, eloquent, horrifying and essential.
    • 100

      The New Yorker

      12 Years a Slave is easily the greatest feature film ever made about American slavery.
    • 91

      The Playlist

      This revolving door of graphically rendered brutalities might feel like its own punishment if not for an array of astonishing performances that’s practically a one-stop Oscar-nomination shopping spree.
    • 90

      The Hollywood Reporter

      Perhaps the nature of the story is such that the film can’t help but be obvious and quite melodramatic at times, but it gets better as it goes along and builds to a moving finish.

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