12 Years a Slave is a 2013 British-American epic historical drama film and an adaptation of the eponymous 1853 autobiography by Solomon Northup, a New York State-born free negro who was kidnapped in Washington, D.C. in 1841 and sold into slavery. He worked on plantations in the state of Louisiana for 12 years before his release. The first scholarly edition of Northup's memoir, co-edited by Sue Eakin and Joseph Logsdon in 1968, carefully retraced and validated his account, finding it to be remarkably accurate. This third feature film directed by Steve McQueen was written by John Ridley. Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Solomon Northup and has been widely praised for his work. Principal photography took place in New Orleans, Louisiana from June 27 to August 13, 2012, on a production budget of $20 million. The locations used were four historic antebellum plantations: Felicity, Magnolia, Bocage, and Destrehan. Of the four, Magnolia is closest in proximity to the actual plantation where Northup was held. 12 Years a Slave premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2013 and has been widely lauded by critics. The film began its release in the US on October 18, 2013 and is scheduled to be released in the UK on January 24, 2014.
In 1841, Solomon Northup (Chiwitel Ejiofor) is a free negro living with his wife and two children in Saratoga Springs, New York. He makes his living as a skilled carpenter and fiddle player. One day he is lured by a pair of men (Scoot McNairy and Taran Killam) into a lucrative touring gig with a circus. After a night out drinking in Washington, D.C., with the two men, Northup awakens to find himself chained to a floor, eventually realizing he has been drugged and will be sold into slavery. Northup is transported by ship to New Orleans, where he is called by the name "Platt", the identity of a runaway slave from Georgia. He is beaten to force him to conceal his identity as a free man and keep the name Platt, and is ultimately purchased by plantation owner William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch). Enduring his new life, Northup stays on good terms with Ford, who turns out to be a relatively benevolent master; Northup assists him by engineering a waterway for transporting logs swiftly and cost-effectively downstream. As Northup's ability as a musician was noted at the slave market, Ford presents him with a violin. Carpenter John Tibeats (Paul Dano) resents and hates Northup for his intelligence and closeness with Ford and begins verbally harassing him. Eventually the tensions between Tibeats and "Platt" reach a boiling point, when Tibeats attempts to beat Northup and Northup fights back. In retaliation, Tibeats and his friends try to lynch Northup by hanging him, leading to Ford's selling Northup away, to protect him from Tibeats, to Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), a planter who believes his right to abuse his slaves is biblically sanctioned. Before being sent to Epps, Northup attempts to reason with Ford, stating he is in fact a free man. Ford states that he cannot hear it and responds "he has a debt to pay" on Northup's purchase price. Northup's first task at the Epps plantation is to pick cotton during the harvest. Everyone is expected to pick at least 200 pounds each day or be beaten. A young female slave named Patsey (Lupita Nyong'o), however, handily picks over 500 pounds daily. Epps' wife (Sarah Paulson) is extremely jealous of the attention Epps lavishes on Patsey and physically abuses her, but his attentions also include repeated rape of the slave girl. The slaves care for each other whenever one or more is beaten. One day, an old man dies in the cotton field and the slaves bury and hold a funeral for him in the slave cemetery. They start singing a spiritual and Northup slowly joins in, finding strength in the music. Epps eventually decides that a recent outbreak of cotton worm in the fields is a plague sent by God and brought to his plantation by his new slaves. He leases them to a neighboring plantation for the season while his crops recover, but warns them not to bring any more plagues onto his friend's property. While there, Northup gains the favor of the plantation's owner, who asks him to play the fiddle at his friends' wedding anniversary celebration and lets him keep his earnings from the event. When Northup returns to the Epps plantation, he attempts to use these earnings to pay a white field hand and former overseer (Garret Dillahunt) to mail a letter to his friends in New York. The field hand agrees to deliver the letter and takes the money, but betrays Northup to Epps. Northup is narrowly able to convince Epps that the story is a lie, but Epps remains suspicious. Northup then tearfully burns the letter, which represented his only hope of freedom. Patsey's abuse progressively worsens as Epps continues to force himself on her, while his wife becomes increasingly jealous. One day, Epps becomes enraged after discovering Patsey missing from his plantation. When she returns, she reveals she was only gone to obtain a bar of soap; however, he orders her stripped and tied to a post. Egged on by his wife, Epps forces Northup to whip Patsey. Northup reluctantly obeys, but Epps eventually becomes frustrated, takes the whip away from Northup, and savagely lashes her. As Patsey heals, Northup begins working on the construction of a pavilion with a Canadian laborer named Bass (Brad Pitt). Bass earns Epps' displeasure by expressing his opposition to slavery, but this convinces Northup to confide in Bass about his life and kidnapping. Once again, Northup asks for help in getting a letter to Saratoga Springs. Bass risks his life in taking such action in the South but agrees to do so. While working in the fields one day to break dirt for planting, Northup is called out by the local sheriff, who arrives in a carriage with another man. Inquiring about Northup's past life, the sheriff asks a series of questions to match him to the facts of his life in New York. Northup recognizes the sheriff's companion as a shopkeeper named Parker (Rob Steinberg) he knows from Saratoga and realizes the man has come to free him; the two embrace. Epps resists relinquishing Northup, but the sheriff tells him Northup is a free man. After being enslaved for 12 years, Northup is restored to freedom and returned to his family, which now includes a son-in-law and grandson named after Solomon. Endnotes recount the inability of Northup and his legal counsel to prosecute the men responsible for his being sold into slavery, as well as the mystery surrounding unknown details of his death and burial.
No comments:
Post a Comment