Building on the momentum generated at Teluride, the film is generating Oscar buzz as critics overwhelmingly rave about Steve McQueen’s film. The story concerns Solomon Northup, a free Black man in the Northeast, who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841, and must navigate a treacherous existence to stay alive. Chiwetel Ejiofor powerfully plays Northup and is joined by a stellar cast including Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Paul Giamatti, Sarah Paulson, and Benedict Cumberbatch.
You can read some of the early reviews here:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie/twelve-years-a-slave/review/618848.
http://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/film-review-12-years-a-slave-steve-mcqueen-1200593984/