*SPOILER ALERT*

After receiving a slew of high praise from critics and viewers alike from premiering his film at international cinema festivals, British director Steve McQueen released his third feature movie, 12 Years a Slave, nationwide, on Nov. 8.

The film is based upon an 1853 autobiography of Solomon Northup, a free African American man who is captured and enslaved for 12 years in the Deep South. Northup, played by British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, lives in Saratoga, New York with his wife and two young children. Because he is an accomplished violinist, he is approached by two men who offer him a gig in Washington, D.C. that he cannot refuse. Once he arrives in the capitol, he drinks a plethora of fine wine and blacks out. When he wakes up, he finds himself in chains, arrested, and sold into slavery in the deep South.

Once Northup is finally sold, he finds himself going to different slave masters. For a majority of his 12 years of enslavement, Northup is under the watch of Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender). Epps is extremely ruthless and racist, but is struggling to confront his own emotional demons. He does not respect his slaves and takes away the little bit of humanity they may have left. Epps is infatuated with one of his slaves, Patsey (Lupita Nyong’o), and as a result, rapes her; Patsey comes to realize that she cannot handle the physical and emotional beatings she must endure under Epps and his wife, (Sarah Paulson). Patsey confides in Northup, who convinces her that committing suicide would be a crime against herself, and that the way to survive is to have each other.

After years on the plantation, Northup starts to lose any optimism he may have had originally; his idealism fades away, and is replaced by the hardened truth of his reality. However, this starts to change when he meets Bass (Brad Pitt), a Canadian who is horrified by the American tradition of slavery. With Bass’ help, Northup is released as a free man, ending his 12 years a slave.

The acting of Ejiofor, Nyong’o, and Fassbender not only display an honest and brutal depiction of slaves and their master, but the performances from these actors also feels very human, honest, and raw. Ejiofor and Nyong’o portray their characters not only as people who struggle in an immensely depressing circumstance, but as people who lose hope within themselves after years of wear and tear of the body and mind. Fassbender plays Epps as a man born into a world where slavery is morally just, which makes Epps the quintessential slave owner.

Although this is McQueen’s third feature film, it does not disappoint; many critics believe this to be his finest film to date. Several facets, including the acting, make 12 Years a Slave one of the best films of the year. 12 Years a Slave is aesthetically alluring; Cinematographer Sean Bobbitt portrays New Orleans as peaceful and serene, juxtaposing the true violent nature of the plantations. There are several scenes in the film when Bobbitt focuses on Northup’s face for about a whole minute to show this protagonsit graudually succubming to his fate as a slave, emotionally surrendering to his prison. Composer Hans Zimmer wrote several pieces for the film, with each piece containing a certain tone that matches the mood of a scene depicted in the film.

Many film critics, such as Eric Kohn of Indiewire,  believe 12 Years a Slave will rack up many Academy Award nominations at the very least, “Ejiofor is a lock for Best Performance in the Oscar race, as is McQueen and his movie.”

While the subject matter of slavery is brutal and emotionally draining, this is how McQueen portrays it in 12 Years a Slave; his honesty with the ancient tradition of enslavement is shown within every scene in the film. Although it may be tough for some viewers to sit through, 12 Years a Slave is an emotionally accurate portrayal of America’s abominable past.