12 Years a Slave

12 Years a Slave (2013) – This film, an unflinching look at human cruelty, can be difficult to watch; it’s also one that keeps its characters at arm’s length (the screenplay’s not a high point), but all the great performances—headlined by Ejiofor’s—go a long way toward making up for it, and in trading pacing for an immersive look at period life, McQueen has constructed a visually engrossing film, albeit one that plods at times; in the end, I don’t know that it has much to contribute to its topic beyond its presentation of ghastly images, but given the relative dearth of films on slavery, maybe that’s enough to give it significance. 7