12 Years a Slave

12 Years a Slave is a 2013 period drama film and an adaptation of the 1853 slave narrative memoir Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup, a New York State-born free African-American man who was kidnapped in Washington, D.C. by two conmen in 1841 and sold into slavery. Northup was put to work on plantations in the state of Louisiana for 12 years before being released.

The film won three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress for Nyong'o, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Ridley.

Plot
In the years before the Civil War, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man from upstate New York, is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South. Subjected to the cruelty of one malevolent owner (Michael Fassbender), he also finds unexpected kindness from another, as he struggles continually to survive and maintain some of his dignity. Then in the 12th year of the disheartening ordeal, a chance meeting with an abolitionist from Canada changes Solomon's life forever.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) It gives us a brutally honest depiction of what American slavery was like to point where you start to hate yourself as a human being for the cruel ways that people used to be back in those days.
 * 2) The story is both depressing and up-lifting.
 * 3) Great casting.
 * 4) Great performances done by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong'o, Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender and Benedict Cumberbatch.
 * 5) The torture scenes are very well depicted and are really unsettling and tear-jerking scenes.
 * 6) The ending where Solomon reunites with his family and shedding tears of relief and joy.
 * 7) Nice direction by Steve McQueen.

Reception
12 Years a Slave received widespread critical acclaim and was named the best film of 2013 by several media outlets and critics. Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 95% of critics gave the film a positive rating, based on 374 reviews, with an average score of 8.90/10. The site's consensus states, "It's far from comfortable viewing, but 12 Years a Slave's unflinchingly brutal look at American slavery is also brilliant – and quite possibly essential – cinema." Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 96 out of 100 based on 57 reviews from mainstream critics, indicating "universal acclaim". It is currently one of the site's highest-rated films, as well as the best-reviewed film of 2013. CinemaScore reported that audiences gave the film an "A" grade

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