12 Years a Slave

⭐ 10.0/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

It was difficult to watch, but it was the best movie I've seen this year. It was a rare movie where I didn't think it was perfect, but a masterpiece nonetheless. I thought the choice to have old timey dialogue made the conversations feel a little less authentic, and I thought the violence was just a little overboard where it bordered emotional manipulation similar to The Passion of the Christ.

But as with Passion of The Christ, much of the violence felt necessary to witness and I almost felt it my duty to not look away. It felt like an important movie to watch and I'd be wise to not forget. The Hanz Zimmer score was amazing, as was the acting all around. I wish I wouldn't have taken so long to watch it, and I would say that if you haven't seen it yet, it is the true sense of a must-watch.

It also felt like a nice complimentary work between my reading of a history book through the lens of normal people (review coming soon!) and my playing of Red Dead 2 which is the same period and setting. I felt like I could appreciate the movie more with those two things as background.