There are few films knocking viewers down as hard and as harrowingly this fall as Steve McQueen‘s “12 Years A Slave.” The British filmmaker returns with his third feature following “Hunger” and “Shame,” and this time brings his unique filmmaking skills to one of the toughest chapters of American history. A true story, and told in a manner that is bracing about the brutality of the era, few movies coming before the end of 2013 will move you quite like this.
Based on the memoir by Solomon Northrup, the film is led by Chiwetel Ejiofor, a free black man, tricked and sold into slavery where endures no shortage of hardship all while he battles to regain his freedom. In this exclusive pictures below, we see some of the people he meets during his lengthy journey including a vicious slave owner played by Michael Fassbender and his mistress played by Lupita Nyong’o, in a performance that is already raising the profile of the newcomer.
Earning plenty of rave reviews already from screenings at Telluride and TIFF (including our own), Fox Searchlight opens the film in limited release starting Friday, October 18th. Check out the images below and our interview with McQueen right here.
