Film Review – 12 Years a Slave

After battling convention with his uncompromising work on “Hunger” and
“Shame,” director Steve McQueen travels down a familiar path with “12
Years a Slave.” Harrowing, brutal, and heartbreaking, this tale of
abduction and subjugation is brimming with powerful imagery, making the
audience feel every last lash that’s cracked across the back of the lead
character. It’s powerful work, but it also has a fatiguing
concentration on suffering, lingering on torture instead of studying it
for the greater thematic good. Rich with details, “12 Years a Slave” is
an accomplished effort, yet McQueen is distracted by the weave work of
story, failing to find art in agony.
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