'12 Years a Slave' Review Roundup: Steve McQueen's New Film Hailed as Masterpiece

This weekend "12 Years A Slave" will be released in limited venues and the film is already being championed as one of 2013's best movies. 

Directed by Steve McQueen, the movie premiered at the Telluride, Toronto and New York Film Festivals where it obtained universal rave reviews and was propelled by the Best Picture front-runner hype. The film currently has a 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and has been called a masterpiece.

Jocelyn Noveck from the Associated Press gave the movie four stars out four and stated, "The film truly belongs to Ejiofor, whose big, soulful eyes seem to register so many things at once: Shock, pain, grit, determination, abject despair at times, cautious hope at others - and always, dignity."

Rex Read from the New York Observer also gave the film a perfect score and stated "If the best films hold you in a captive vise, entertain you, keep you spellbound and teach you something at the same time, then '12 Years a Slave' is outstanding-brave, courageous and unforgettable."

David Edelstein from the New York Magazine also hailed the film and stated "It's smashingly effective as melodrama. But McQueen's directorial voice-cold, stark, deterministic-keeps it from attaining the kind of grace that marks the voice of a true film artist."

The Wrap's Alonso Duralde wrote, "McQueen and Ridley seem determined to obliterate any lingering Gone With the Wind-inspired notions that the antebellum South was a place of grace and charm, or that slavery was, in the euphemism of the day, merely a 'peculiar institution.'"

Peter Howell of the Toronto Star said, "Believe the Oscar buzz. Britain's Steve McQueen ('Hunger,' 'Shame') nails the horror of America's slavery shame but also finds humanity in one man's determination to free himself and return to his family."

Latinos Post called it "A Heart-Wrenching & Brutally Immersive Depiction of Slavery."

"12 Years a Slave" tells the story of Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, who is abducted and sold into slavery. The film stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong'o, Paul Dano, Benedict Cumberbatch and Paul Giamatti.

Fox Searchlight will the release "12 Years a Slave" in 18 theaters. The film is rated R for violence/cruelty, some nudity and brief sexuality.