Oscars 2014: Ranking Best Pictures From Worst To Best
2. 12 Years A Slave
Its always admirable when a director in this case its the talented Steve McQueen chooses to present controversial material without rose tinted glasses, and instead lays it all out there regardless of how brutal it is, or the fact that many moviegoers wont have the stomach to see it through to the end. In this case, that subject is the memoirs of Solomon Northup; a free man kidnapped and unjustly sold into slavery. Steve McQueen also makes the bold decision of not privileging viewers a chronological timeline to follow. It doesnt matter if were witnessing day 7, day 50, year 4, or year 12 because frankly, the movie is about suffering. And 12 Years A Slave makes it a point to flow from one disturbing scene to another, without leaving viewers with one opportunity to suck in some serenity. An outstanding ensemble cast involving Chiwetel Ejiofor who could tell the entire grueling story solely with facial expressions and body language if he wanted to Michael Fassbender as a psychotic slave owner, Lupita Nyongo as a similarly tortured soul, and more also make the brutality feel real. With a lesser cast, you just don't get the heartbreaking emotion presented here. 12 Years A Slave as a result, is far and away the greatest film ever made about American slavery, along with being one of the most important films ever made, but theres one film that just edges it out.
