Although we hate to admit it, slavery played a substantial role in the early years of our country’s history. The words “all men are created equal” appear in our own Declaration of Independence, yet it wasn’t until 1865 that slavery was finally made illegal. Despite its prominence, though, there are few movies that focus on the subject. “Django Unchained” is the only recent example, and this is more of a Tarantino fantasy than a political satire. For this reason, “12 Years A Slave” is a significant achievement. Here comes a film that is not afraid to show what slavery was really like, in all of its horrific brutality. This is not what you would call a “fun” movie. But it is an essential one.

“12 Years A Slave” tells the story of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who was born a free man in Saratoga Springs, New York. A professional violin player, he is offered a job to play at a hotel in Washington, D.C. While there, though, he is unknowingly drugged, kidnapped, and then transported to the South to be sold as a slave. Despite his objections, Northup is unable to escape, and, along with his family, is sold to a slave-owner in New Orleans. For 12 years, he lives in slavery, until he was finally able to earn back his freedom.

Of the many slave narratives that director Steve McQueen could have brought to life, it is meaningful that he chose the narrative of Solomon Northup. The reason is that Northup is someone much like us: he is educated, literate, has a wife and kids, holds a job, and owns property. When you take someone so conditioned to a normal lifestyle, and you force them to live like an animal, it brings to light just how truly awful slavery was. The story of Northup could be the story of anybody, and it is a frightening concept.

After Northup is brought to the South, he is first rounded up and presented at an auction, with rich white land-owners sizing him up and purchasing him along with several other black men. They are each brought to plantations and forced to work endless hours, from break of dawn to dusk; with no breaks, and with a whipping close at hand for those that don’t work their hardest. Some of the slave-owners, of course, are better than others, such as William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), who treats his slaves with as much dignity as possible, although he also does not openly object to the practice. But there are some that are likely the more common slave-owners, such as the cruel Edwin Epps (McQueen favorite Michael Fassbender) and his wife Mary (Sarah Paulson), who treat their slaves as sub-human, at times even outright calling them their “property.”

McQueen doesn’t just tell a story in his films. They are each an event; a microscopic viewing into a part of the world that, although real, we would prefer not to think of. It it is often hard to look away, even while being presented with such lucidly violent images. In his first film “Hunger,” we watch as a man literally shrinks away to nothing, starving himself to death in protest to conditions at an Irish prison. At the end, he is nothing but a grotesque skeletal frame. In “Shame,” we witness a man driven mad by a sexual addiction, which overtakes every decision of his life. Strangely enough, “12 Years A Slave” is actually the least difficult film of his to sit through, even while dealing with the subject of slavery.

If you look past the grittiness, though, this is also a film to admire; whether it is the allurement of the dark tones of Hans Zimmer’s background score, or the enticement of the gorgeous cinematography and lighting in the plantations of the South, or just a fascination for the performances of the cast. McQueen has shown many advanced technical elements in his previous films, and here presents them with perfection, such as his preference for long, drawn-out shots, or lengthy periods with no dialogue. It is here that the film shows the most emotion, even if we are simply zoomed in on Northup’s discontented stare into the camera for several minutes, as he sits in contemplation of his terrible situation.

There are three performances here that are among the finest of the year. They are Ejiofor as Solomon Northup,  Fassbender as Edwin Epps, and N’yongo as Patsey. These actors possess incredible control over their characters. Ejiofor reservedly plays the lead character, who is disheartened as a slave, yet never allows himself to “fall into despair.” On the other side, there is Patsey, who, as a victim of the stings of slavery, is much more downtrodden. N’yongo’s performance here is perhaps the most surprising, especially considering that this is her first American film. She will likely have a long and fruitful career in American films after such an astounding debut. And the monstrous brute that controls the two characters is Epps, played by Fassbender. Not since Amon Goeth in “Schindler’s List” has such a psychopathic character been so marvelously portrayed. It is safe to say that all three actors will win acclaim and awards for their roles, as they are all deserving.

“12 Years A Slave” is my choice for Best Picture of the year, even though it is only the middle of November. Although not as entertaining a movie as “Gravity,” this is the type of film that has to be seen, if only as a form of education. You can read about slavery in history books, but it’s another thing to see it presented on screen. To witness the whipping of a poor girl that did literally nothing to deserve it. To know that there really were people like Edwin Epps out there, and that this really happened for hundreds of years before it was finally made illegal. It’s important to put yourself in Solomon Northup’s place. What if your entire world was ripped out from in front of you, and your life was no longer your own? “12 Years A Slave” presents this dilemma, and it doesn’t hold back. This is movie-making at its finest.