12 Years a Slave was an incredibly intense movie. It is a serious, wonderfully done film. When I see movies like 12 Years a Slave, I can't help but think of the artistry and skill that went into making the film. Every scene, every character, was amazing. This is not a movie for a relaxing movie night. Intense emotions are stirred, prodded, and pulled out as you watch Solomon Northup move from day to day, moment to moment.
The contrast between the north and south at the time is jarring. That so many people belonging to one nation could behave and believe so differently... Well, I guess this still happens in countries throughout the world. It's just a startling thing to see both the black and white people behave so fundamentally different.
12 Years a Slave is a book, Solomon Northup's autobiography. Why had I never heard of this book before? I feel like it should be part of the curriculum. If not in high school, then in university. Post-university, I've read hundreds (thousands) of different blog posts and had never seen this book. Where has it been? I can't speak to the quality of the book, since I haven't read it, but since the movie was so moving, then I imagine the book is fairly amazing.
One non-serious thing I have to mention is Brad Pitt. As soon as I saw him, I thought, of course, of course, he's going to play the "hero" white person. I won't get into what the character does, but when I saw him, I just knew. I mentioned this to my Hubby, who watched the movie with me, and he said it was Brad Pitt's production company that made the movie. I should look that up.
Every accolade 12 Years a Slave has received, I think it is more than deserved. It is a brilliant and powerful film. I'm interested in seeing more movies created by Steve McQueen.
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