12 Years A Slave

12 Years A Slave
Fri 1/31 9:00 w/ beer/wine in mezzanine; Sat 2/1 6:30; Sun 2/2 2:30 & 7:30; Mon 2/3 6:30; Tue 2/4 9:00; Wed 2/5 6:30; Thur 2/6 4:00 & 9:00; Fri 2/7 6:30 w/ beer/wine in mezzanine;
Sat 2/8 4:00 & 9:00; Sun 2/9 6:30; Mon 2/10 9:00; Tue. 2/11 6:30; Wed 2/12 9:00; Thur 2/13 6:30

Dir: Steven McQueen / 2013 / UK / 133 min / DCP

12 Years a Slave is one of the most highly acclaimed films of 2013, winning numerous awards and topping many Best of 2013 lists. John Ridely’s screenplay is based on the 1853 autobiography of Solomon Northup. Northup, depicted by Chiwetel Ejiofor (Kinky Boots), was a black man living freely in New York who was kidnapped and spent 12 years enslaved in Louisiana. Director Steve McQueen (Shame) does not shy away from the brutal realities of slavery, creating a film that realistically depicts a horrific piece of American history. The cast is full of amazing actors, including Lupita Ngong’o, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt, and Alfre Woodard. Fassbender’s performance as a cruel slave owner and Ngong’o’s as his tortured victim have both received rave reviews, as has the masterful work of Ejiofor in the central role. Christopher Orr of The Atlantic enthuses, “12 Years a Slave is likely the most painful, clear-eyed feature ever made about American slavery. In that light, it almost seems faint praise to add that it will also likely prove to be the best film of the year.”