12 Years a Slave (2013)

12 Years a Slave rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb8.1/10· 786K votes

Rotten Tomatoes95%

Metacritic96%

TMDb7.9/10· 12K votes

With 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 8.1/10 on IMDb and 96/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been very positive.

About 12 Years a Slave

In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty as well as unexpected kindnesses Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.

Cast of 12 Years a Slave

• 

  Chiwetel Ejiofor

  as Solomon Northup

• 

  Michael Fassbender

  as Edwin Epps

• 

  Lupita Nyong'o

  as Patsey

• 

  Benedict Cumberbatch

  as William Ford

• 

  Paul Dano

  as John Tibeats

• 

  Sarah Paulson

  as Mary Epps

• 

  Adepero Oduye

  as Eliza

• 

  Scoot McNairy

  as Brown

• 

  Paul Giamatti

  as Theophilus Freeman

• 

  Brad Pitt

  as Samuel Bass

• 

  Michael Kenneth Williams

  as Robert

• 

  Alfre Woodard

  as Mistress Shaw

12 Years a Slave facts

Budget

$20M

Box office

$187M

Our take on 12 Years a Slave

Steve McQueen's 2013 Oscar winner tells the true story of Solomon Northup, a free Black man kidnapped and sold into Southern slavery, and his decade-long fight to survive and return home. Unflinching and beautifully composed, it confronts American history's cruelty without looking away. If its harrowing power and moral force gripped you, seek out historical dramas that reckon honestly with injustice and the will to endure.