TIFF Day 3: 12 years a Slave

I thankfully nabbed tickets to the second screening of 12 years a slave-it was a hot ticket item at the fest, and has already been predicted as a front-runner in the Oscar Best Picture race this year. Waiting in line in the pouring rain was pretty shitty, as was sitting next to a total sociopathic bitch in the theatre (don't get me started on this), but it paid off as director Steve McQueen, and actors Viola Davis, Lupita Nyong'o, Michael Fassbender, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Sarah Paulson all showed up for the Q and A after the movie.

Let me first off say how happy I am that they came to the second viewing. This is practically unprecedented at the fest (I've only ever seen this happen twice: Soderberg came to The Informant and Terry Gilliam came to Dr. Parnasus) and it makes me crazy. The stars have come all this way to present the film, they are in town, probably in the neighbourhood, have drivers and assistants etc to organize all this shit for them, and it only takes about 20 minutes out of their schedule to do a Q and A. Why not do it, especially when it will make everyone at the movie so happy and give them an experience they'll never forget.  I vow that if I ever have a movie at the festival in this life or another, I will attend all the screenings!

On to the movie-it was powerful. I'm sure most people know that the film is based on the true story of black violinist named Solomon Northup (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor who I'm sure has a pretty good shot at Best Actor) living in NY state with his family in the 1840's as a freeman. He is kidnapped and sold into slavery, deemed a Georgia runaway, and spends 12 years as a slave, the majority of which is under Master Epps, a disgusting despicable man played perfectly by Michael Fassbender, before a Canadian abolitionist (Brad Pitt) helps him Solomon regain his freedom.

I hesitate to say that I "enjoyed" the film, as it is a really harsh movie that is both difficult and uncomfortable to watch. I'm glad however that it was hard to sit through because I think that is exactly what a movie about slavery should be. The two most powerful scenes in the film for me were the two that were excruciating to watch. The first is when a number of white men on the plantation try to kill Solomon by hanging him. He is spared at the last second, but is left in the noose, hanging from the tree, with his feet barely touching the ground for the remainder of the day. The scene is long, and you see other slaves in the background going about their day, trying to not react to his situation at all b/c they know there is nothing that can be done. The second is when Master Epps orders Solomon to lash another slave, Patsey (who Epps himself is in love with) practically to death.

There are only 3 somewhat "feel good" scenes in the movie, and Brad Pitt is in two of them (I don't think that is a coincidence as he produced the film- if it wins Best Picture, he will get the Oscar). As most of you know, I am forever a Pitt apologist and genuine Brangalunatic, but even so I think he works well in the two scenes-one challenging the very idea of slavery to Master Epps, and the other agreeing to write a letter for Solomon to help him gain his free papers. So what if he wanted to be one of the good guys? It works for him. Not to mention, Pitt has had really interesting and genuine things to say about the film and about human trafficking in general. Watch this great interview from the red carpet the other night here as well as this great blog post from the Globe and Mail about how nice he is (I had to get that in somewhere didn't I?)

Anyway, the more I think about it, after seeing this movie, and McQueen's treatment of slavery, it makes me more resentful of Django Unchained and Tarantino's self indulgence that ruined that film (but that's a whole other conversation). Spike Lee's controversial tweet from last year also comes to mind:

Anyhow, the film is chock-a-block full of famous actors, most who are only in the film for a few scenes. I found the casting mostly good, and where it really counts (the lead roles) it is bang on perfect, but sometimes with so many famous faces, especially in a serious period piece, casting starts to distract, and it brings you out of the suspension of disbelief. Prime example: Taran Killiam from Saturday Night Live playing one of the men who kidnaps Solomon. It was bad, and didn't work. I also didn't like the casting of Paul Giamatti (who I love as an actor) and don't understand it-he was only in 2 scenes and they don't work that well either.

My brother reminded me today of how that was a major problem with the movie Lincoln-and I totally agree. It's impossible to believe Joseph Gordon Levitt as Abraham Lincoln's son, or Girls' Adam Driver as a morse code interpreter. Sometimes you just need to find faces that aren't so familiar. I digress.

Chiwetel Ejiofor was incredible. I'm not sure really how to talk about his performance, it's something you have to see for yourself. I think he played the violin himself though in the film, which is super impressive. Michael Fassbender's performance too, is simply indredible (I predict he wins best supporting actor for this-the Academy making it up to him for not nominating him for his previous collaboration with McQueen-Shame). I think Master Epps is the most disgusting character I've ever seen on screen-and I know that is a difficult thing to be able to portray well.

One of the questions at the Q and A was about the female characters (and thank f*ck b/c I was starting to get a little annoyed with how many questions were aimed at the one white man on stage) and all three actresses present had really interesting things to say--Lupita Nyong'o especially (I believe this is the first movie she's ever been in!). She plays Patsey, Epps' slave mistress who he loves to the point of hating her, and who is abused and tortured by Epps' wife (played by Sarah Paulson) out of her sheer embarrassment and hatred that her husband loves a slave more than her. Nyong'o plays the role with such dignity and strength, it is hard to believe it's her first film.

See this movie. It'll be everywhere for months to come, and is really a remarkable piece of filmmaking.