Top 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2013: #15. Steve McQueen’s Twelve Years a Slave

By Eric Lavallee on January 15, 2013

Twelve Years a Slave

Director: Steve McQueen
Writer(s): McQueen & John Ridley
Producer(s): Anthony Katagas, Brad Pitt
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Paul Dano, Sarah Paulson, Paul Giamatti, Michael Kenneth Williams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Garret Dillahunt, Quvenzhané Wallis, Scoot McNairy

More of a fan of Shame on paper than on film, Sean Bobbitt’s camera work was flawless and Michael Fassbender once again went beyond the call of duty, but for me, Steve McQueen’s Hunger still resonates and would be the principle reason why his third feature ranks so well on this list. What will likely be compared to Quentin Tarantino’s Django upon its release, Twelve Years a Slave features one hell of a stellar cast.

Gist: After a New York state citizen (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is kidnapped and sold into brutal slavery, and made to work on a plantation in Louisiana in the 1800s, he desperately struggles to return home to his family.

Release Date: Filming took place last July, so this is ready for either Cannes (where Hunger got its debut) or Venice (where Shame premiered). It’ll be at TIFF for it’s North American debut.

Eric Lavallée is the founder, editor-in-chief and film critic at IONCINEMA.com (founded in 2000). Eric splits his time between his home base in Montreal, NYC, and is a regular at Sundance, Cannes and TIFF. He has a BFA in Film Studies at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013 he served as a Narrative Competition Jury Member at the SXSW Film Festival. Top Films From Contemporary Film Auteurs: Almodóvar (Talk to Her), Coen Bros. (Fargo), Dardennes (La Promesse), Haneke (Caché), Hsiao-Hsien (Three Times), Kar-wai (In the Mood for Love), Kiarostami (Taste of Cherry), Lynch (Mulholland Dr.), Tarantino (Pulp Fiction), Van Sant (My Own Private Idaho), von Trier (Breaking the Waves)