Release Date: 28 January 2014 (UK)
Director: Steve McQueen
Running Time: 133 Minutes
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Lupita Nyong'O, Sarah Paulson
Screening Reviewed: London Film Festival Accenture Gala Press Screening
Reviewed by Kyle Pedley
From the offset, there is an almost indefinable gravitas and cinematic clout to 12 Years A Slave that cement it as important, meaningful cinema as well as a likely critical and awards darling. And whilst there are traces of his signature filmic traits and tropes, most notably a confident and unabashed intimacy with oft-taboo peels of the human condition such as graphic sexuality, nudity and violence, this is surprisingly director Steve McQueen’s most accessible and mainstream outing as mentioned offers only fleeting similarities to his previous works Shame and Hunger.
