Something tells us not many people will find themselves entreating others to approach 12 Years a Slave as its own film, separate from Django thoughts. Sure, there’s another mind-nukingly major cast (Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Michael K. Williams, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Benedict Cumberbatch, Quvenzhané Wallis, Sarah Paulson) and a dinner scene with ruffly clothes that call Tarantino’s latest to mind. But it looks like this is going to be an entirely different type of Favorite Movie–worthy movie. Based on the autobiography of freeborn carpenter, violinist, and family man Solomon Northup (also a new IMDb inductee), it’s directed by England’s Steve McQueen, who helmed the affecting Fassbender films Hunger and Shame. McQueen is black, and that’s no small talking point — Hollywood is achingly overdue for an honest, hopefully white savior-less slavery movie told by anyone but a white male.
