Now Playing: 12 Years a Slave

I have to admit, I put off watching 12 Years a Slave as long as I could. I don't why I did - I knew it was going to be well done and I knew it was a front-runner for awards season.  I just... I don't know, I guess I worried that once I watched it, I would be spoiled for all others?

Poppets.  It was good.  I mean, everything was good - acting, directing, scripting, costumes... all of it.  I expected all of that.  What I didn't expect was to feel doubt.  I mean, I know it happened.  I don't doubt the veracity of history.  But it's just so crazy that you could be walking around free one day and in chains the next.  And I guess what happened was I started leaving the movie and thinking about how this still happens today, all over the world, especially to young women.  And maybe it was that train of thought that distracted me throughout the actual viewing.  None of that was the movie's fault though.  In fact, maybe that's one of its strengths, to tell a story so far removed from most of our experiences and still remain very relevant to us, today.

As I said, it was incredibly solid, with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong'o doing amazing work.  The script also did a great job capturing the nuances of Yankee English and the southern drawl from the 1800's.  All very, very well done. 4.5 out of 5 stars.