12 Years a Slave

I could never figure out why, if this film was so good, it did not get more media "buzz" in the run-up to the Oscars. Now I think I understand: The story is important; the topic is almost motherhood, but the film itself is a major letdown. I suspect that it got the Best Picture Oscar because very few people had the nerve to vote against it. There are scenes of human degradation and scenes of cruelty, but they seemed watered down. And the script to my mind was very uneven; Brad Pitt's character, for example, as the abolitionist/saviour, seemed to come out of nowhere. And the idea that someone from New York could walk onto a Georgia plantation and get out -- alive -- with one of the owner's slaves seemed to strain credulity. Notwithstanding, I thought Chiwetel Ejiofor put in a masterful performance as Solomon Northrup, but I think that other actresses had a better claim on the Best Supporting Actress Oscar than Lupita Nyong'o.