12 YEARS A SLAVE at the ODEON QUAY

From the hype of others i thought it was going to be a film with the protagonists doing staring competitions and glaring at the screen but it is a surprisingly well tempoed film in which the moments of contemplation ( so hard to fully translate to screen) aptly capture the bewilderment , alienation , isolation , shock , loneliness and desperate frustration of the characters situation.

This preview and summary of the film gives an indication of the profound affect this film , which ironically could only be made by a non-US director much the same way it took a British Director to make Mississippi Burning , has had on American audiences.Especially check out the contribution of Harvard Professor Vincent Brown which comes at the 3min20sec mark


Critic Mark Kermode gives a fair review in this Guardian Article.
 

"The key to Solomon's existence is the suppression of his rage – he must feign illiteracy and subservience to survive – and it's notable that for all the anger and shame that the film stirs up about recent history, McQueen remains exceptionally even-handed and controlled in his treatment of all the key players, black and white alike."

This article from the Mirror Newspaper gives a very good background story about the real character portrayed in the film.

"Even Solomon’s descendants had little idea of his life, although several owned battered copies of his book. Estate agent Clayton Adams was 16 when he picked up his mum Carol’s copy. He had the same reaction as McQueen. He said: “I couldn’t put it down. I asked my mother how she had come about the book and she explained he was my great, great, great, great grandfather."

All of this should lead us to the actual Book which is the inspiration for the Film , written by Solomon Northup in 1853 , you can get a synopsis and reviews from this Amazon link