There are plenty of stories of slaves in the USA, but this is the only one I’ve come across where a free citizen is kidnapped and sold into slavery. It’s this latter-day people trafficking that sees successful family man Solomon Northup (Chiwitel Ejiofor) fall foul of some villains, beaten savagely, then sold to work in the sugar plantations of Louisiana. He’s an intelligent man, a man of integrity and spirit - and that proves like red rag to a bull for both the cowardly bully “Tibeats” (Paul Dano) and later to the brutish “Epps” (Michael Fassbender) who quite literally considered his slaves as feudal property, his to use as he sees fit. Not only does that see plenty of opportunity for his whip hand to flex, but for him to treat the women as sex toys, despite the protestations of his increasingly embittered wife (Sarah Paulson). The relentlessness of this existences forces Solomon into a psychological cocoon in which he hopes to be able to survive, but when “Bass” (Brad Pitt) arrives espousing an altogether different attitude to enthralment, perhaps he can find something of his own élan? This is a grim indictment of a ghastly business. Steve McQueen spares us little of the culture of evil that existed, a culture that often underpinned it’s legitimacy by quoting scripture and a culture that considered the female slaves - superbly epitomised by Lupito Nyomg’o as “Patsey” - as nothing more than chattels. The production design sets an authentic looking scene with costumes and scenarios adding a richness to what is an impressive ensemble effort of acting talent that sees us impressed by just about everyone who has lines to deliver. There is something odiously visceral about Fassbender’s efforts here and with toxicity prevailing in just about every scene of his captivity, this presents a gruesome picture of brutality that’s often quite hard to watch. This is powerful and emotionally-charged cinema.