12 YEARS A SLAVE

Hype engulfed 12 Years A Slave ever since it was announced that the unjust true story of Solomon Northup was going to finally be told on the big screen. Before the film was even released it was expected to clean up at the Oscars and has since been nominated for 9 of the prestigious Academy Awards. Despite there being a fair few films depicting slavery in America, one of the most recent being Tarantino's 2013 Django Unchained, 12 Years A Slave is actually the first to explore slavery purely from the slave's point of view.

In case you don't already know, 12 Years A Slave is based on the memoir of Solomon Northup (Played by Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man living in pre-Civil War America who is kidnapped and sold into slavery. For 12 long years Solomon experiences both heinous cruelty and unexpected kindness from his masters but it isn't until a chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist (Brad Pitt) that he finally gets a chance at being free again.

According to critics, 12 Years A Slave lived up to its pre-release hype. The story alone fascinated me but the raving reviews that I was consistently hearing made me even more excited to see this masterpiece for myself but I am disappointed to say that it just didn't live up to my expectations.

Director Steve McQueen is famed for his lingering shots and needlessly long scenes, a trademark of which this film is not exempt. Although for some scenes I understood the length of the shots - the abuse and torture Solomon faced at the hands of his captors was a particularly lengthy, graphic scene that forced the audience to sit and watch - making you feel voyeuristic and helpless. McQueen does not sugarcoat the abuse that the slaves faced, and rightly so - although incredibly disturbing to watch I believe that audiences should not be allowed to forget or gloss over our World's history, no matter how horrific it may be. However, other long scenes just seemed gratuitous to me - the extra minute or so in length did not add to the story or to the emotional impact on the audience, the camera just lingered meaninglessly on extreme close ups of the characters or needless, scene-setting longshots. The extensive amount of long scenes grew tiresome and made the film itself feel much longer than the 134-minute run time.

However, the biggest issue that I had with 12 Years A Slave is the lack of a time frame; throughout the film there is absolutely no reference or even indication to how much time is passing for Solomon. Obviously I was aware through the film's title that in total he spent 12 years as a slave but if it wasn't for that title and was instead purely down to the film's contents, I would probably have only guessed that he was kept for two or so years before he found justice. Aside from a few specks of grey appearing in Solomon's hair in the very final scenes, he doesn't look any older throughout the film. None of the characters seem to age at all. There is no hint of seasons changing, let alone the years and I thought it was lazy for McQueen to allow the film's title and well-known backstory to carry what is ultimately the crux of the film. The fact that Solomon was essentially held prisoner and away from his family for 12 years is what makes his story all the more harrowing and by removing all traces of passing time I actually feel McQueen did not do Solomon's plight justice. When you consider how much time was devoted to unnecessary lengthy scenes, you would have thought McQueen could have found the opportunity to put in some kind of indication as to how much time had passed. In comparison to fellow January release Mandela: A Long Walk To Freedom, a film which never left any doubt in my mind as to how much time was passing either through the seasons, dialogue, captions or even just the change in the characters physical appearances, 12 Years A Slave is shambolic.

McQueen's shoddy direction aside, I did feel that the performances were strong. I'm not usually a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch but he gave a heart-warming, complex and emotional performance as Solomon's first master, Ford, and Michael Fassbender personified the evil Edwin Epps with harrowing precision. Cumberbatch and Fassbender's performances gave the film the edge that it needed to maintain my attention and the contrast between the two men was astounding and incredibly well done. Of course, it is undeniable that the performance that stole the show was our leading man, Chiwetel Ejiofor; a powerful performance that carried the film as Ejiofor skilfully conveyed the heartache and sorrow that Solomon felt but also, and most poignantly, his desperation to not only survive but to maintain his dignity whilst doing so. 

All in all, 12 Years A Slave is a brutal and honest depiction of the horrors of slavery in America. Solomon Northup's story is disturbing but was crying out to be shared and I applaud McQueen for bringing a story that would otherwise have remained relatively unknown to the forefront of public interest. However, for me McQueen's direction was the downfall of this film - the long shots and lack of a time scale made it boring at times and by failing to get across the length of time that Solomon was suffering at the hands of Edwin Epp, to me at least, he failed to bring Solomon justice. Were the performances good? Absolutely, and Ejiofor is especially deserving of all of the hype that is surrounding his role in the film. However, is 12 Years A  Slave the best film of the year? Absolutely not. And that is not something I expected or wanted to be concluding with.

★★★☆☆

12 Years A Slave is out now! 

 Stay tuned for more reviews and follow me on twitter if you fancy it :)

Love,

STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS

Walking The White Carpet

A couple of weeks ago i got an invite to the Star Trek: Into Darkness World premiere and when i saw this invite sitting comfortably in my inbox i literally choked on my drink from the excitement and very promptly RSVP'd with a BIG. FAT. 'YES!'

In all honesty, i am by no means a 'trekkie'. I'm not into Sci-Fi or Space. I hadn't seen the first Star Trek or Star Wars... I can't even sit through an episode of Big Bang Theory. The most i knew about Star Trek was all learnt from the incredible West End show Loserville. So, why was i so excited to be attending the World premiere of a franchise i have no real interest in? Okay, well it might have something to do with my love for the film's director JJ Abrams and it definitely had something to do with all of the hype surrounding the film, even if it wasn't a genre that i normally gravitated towards I was eager to get a sneak peak at what was sure to be one of the biggest films of the year.

Anyways, on Thursday morning i recieved my ticket and waited excitedly all day until the time came

My Ticket

to walk the white carpet. The amount of hardcore Star Trek fans (admittedly alongside the masses of hardcore Benedict Cumberbatch fans) that had waited all day at the premiere barriers in order to be a part of this event was absolutely mind blowing. Leicester Square was literally filled to the brim as hundreds of people hoped to catch a glimpse of the stars who had promised to make this installment of one of the World's most succesful franchises even better than the last.

JJ Abrams Introducing The Film

The Cast Join Abrams On Stage

Once everybody was seated and Alex Zane had interviewed all of the key cast and crew on the huge white stage outside, the audience were treated to an appearance from JJ Abrams himself as he introduced the film and called  down all of the stars to join him on the stage.The warm, loving relationship between Abrams and the cast was obvious to all as the group laughed and joked, excited to finally unleash their new film onto the World.

As you all probably know, this film is 3D. I don't usually watch 3D films as they normally make me feel a little queasy and when i have a choice i always see a made-for-3D film in 2D. So as you can imagine the 3D in itself was a big treat for me! I would definitely recommend trying to see the 3D screening, even though i know it costs a couple of pounds extra. The setting of Space just makes parts of it really beautiful and this beauty is so much more intensified through the lenses of 3D glasses and on top of that the schrapnel and characters flying towards the screen during inevitable fight scenes adds so much to the already high-tension scenes.

As soon as the film started, all of the worries i had about not being a 'trekkie' and not loving this genre of film just evaporated away. I was a little concerned that as a newbie to the whole franchise i wouldn't understand anything that is going on because i half expected Abrams to just assume that the audience know the back story so not include the relevant information in this film. I was completely wrong; all of the characters are introduced in a subtle but useful way, Captain Kirk, Spock, Uhura, Scotty... All of their relationships with eachother and their tasks within the enterprise were clearly explained but in a way that is not patronizing or too time-consuming for your hardcore Star Trek fans. Everybody was accounted for. I'm not going to lie; there were a couple of incidents where some parts of the audience laughed or applauded for reasons that weren't too clear, so i'm sure that Abrams included some in-jokes especially for the Trekkies and although they obviously went right over my head, i appreciate the touch and even though i didn't understand the references, they did not interfere with the overall story arc throughout the film.

I surprised myself with how involved i got with the film, i have to say that there was a lack of character development at the beginning of the film, obviously because these are all well established characters within film culture but this meant that as a newbie i did struggle a little bit in connecting with  Captain Kirk to start with. He is just a little obnoxious and seemed pretty unlikeable as a character but as time went on i did really grow to love him and was on the edge of my seat vouching for him to win.  All of the performances were faultless, an absolutely perfect cast overall; Zachary Quinto was incredible as Spock and i found myself looking forward to his next scene when his last one finished - i think for me personally he stole the show. Simon Pegg as Scotty was a flawless choice; a choice i had originally doubted when  i first heard that he was cast (How could Shaun of the Dead possibly fit comfortably within the Star Trek enterprise?!) A friend of mine mentioned Anton Yelchin before i saw the film, so i was on the lookout for his performance as Pavel and although it is a relatively small role he is simply adorable in it and i just wanted to cuddle him and tell him how cute he is.

Hmmm, now... Am i possibly forgetting someone?! Have i not mentioned the man who stole the premiere's thunder? The man whose name evoked the most incredible response whenever it was mentioned to the hundreds of people outside of the cinema, craning to get a glimpse of him? The man who i actually knew nothing about before Thursday but have since learned that the Sherlock fandom is pretty much out of this World?! Ah yes... That's the one, the only: Benedict Cumberbatch. Playing myserious, sinister John Harrison. Creepy, creepy Harrison with his creepy, creepy voice and terrifying death stare. Another incredible performance from a very talented actor but is Harrison actually so bad?! You might have to watch to find out! For all the 'Cumberbitches' (really??), i think  you are most definitely in for a treat. He really does you, and the role, proud and will really mess with your head as you try to work out whether or not you can believe a word that he says.

The storyline itself is very engrossing. It isn't as simple as the enterprise having to catch the bad guy or bad things will happen and there are so many twists and turns it is guaranteed to keep you hooked and, most importantly, keep you guessing. There is a lot of action and once one high-drama, high-tension sub plot comes to its natural end, there is another to take over your interest. The film is over two hours long but the time really did fly by, and when it did end i could have happily kept watching for another hour or so. I often find myself clock-watching after about an hour and a half's worth of film watching but this one felt like i had blinked and it was over. There was just never a dull moment and that is pretty unique for a film of it's stance.

Once again let me say: I am not a Star Trek fan. I am not an action fan. I am not a sci-fi fan. This is not conventionally my cup of tea. So to anybody who is trying to urge their boyfriend/girlfriend/brother/sister/dog to see this film and they are moaning that they won't like it and it isn't their kind of thing - this is the review for them. You don't have to be a lifelong fan to enjoy this film, you will be kept entertained throughout, you will become involved with the story and when it ends you will be hoping for more. This is definitely one for you all to watch and it is one for the big screen and 3D glasses too - it is out on the 9th May, so make a date!

JJ Abrams and his flawless cast and crew have made something to be hugely proud of and i applaud the effort that has gone into creating this great piece of cinema.

Losing one star for the slight lack of character establishment and another point that i can't make as it is a pretty huge spoiler, i award Star Trek: Into Darkness with: ★★★★☆

Stay tuned for more reviews and follow me on twitter if you fancy it :)

Love,

P.S. Special thanks to the lovely Jonathan Ross and Union J boys for being so nice and friendly :)

With Union J

With Jonathan Ross