12 Years a Slave
The graphic violence depicted in 12 Years a Slave had many of the audience members walking out of the theatre when it screened at DIFF on Monday. The film is based on the true story of a free man from New York who is kidnapped and becomes the property of a depraved slave owner in pre-civil war America. As one man put it: “It was very graphic, too graphic at times. Some scenes, I had to look away.” Another woman said: “Some of the content was horribly shocking ... but it needed to be.”
“I am American and I feel it’s shameful really, that part of our history,” said a woman who attended the screening. “It was an incredible film, and very moving.”
The gut-wrenching violence was offset by the beauty of the scenery. And although it is only his second feature film (following up on 2011’s Shame), director Steve McQueen is clearly in the running for an Academy Award nomination. And if DIFF reaction is any indication, Chiwetel Ejiofor as the main character Solomon Northup is too. “He was a brilliant actor,” said one man. “He made it seem so believable.”
