“12 Years A Slave” is now generating major Oscar buzz after its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. Touted as an Oscar favorite for Best Picture, the film has been reviewed as “brutal yet brilliant.” Audiences gave extreme reactions, from applause to walkouts.

The movie was based on a book of the same name, an autobiography of Solomon Northup (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor in the film)written in 1853. Northup was a slave who was abducted from his native land and forced into slavery during the Civil War.
The film’s graphic depiction of the actual torture that slaves went through in the period has elicited reviews of “brilliant yet brutal.”(The Telegraph, UK) It’s more of a description than an admonition as director Steve Mc Queen and stars Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt believe that moviegoers will instantly relate to the slavery tale.

In the recent press conference for the film, McQueen states that the film is a dream come true for him: "I was upset with myself that I didn't know this book and then I realised no one I knew knew about it. No one. As soon as [my wife] put it in my hand I didn't let it go, it was just remarkable. I had an idea and then you see it in your hand as a book. Amazing."

The main actor, Ejiofor, noted that the graphic scenes were necessary: "To not show it as explicitly as we can would I think be a disservice to [Northup] and his family. What's the point in telling the story if we couldn't tell the story?”
While the movie was met with rave reviews, some members of the audience were appalled, and even walked out of the theaters. It was clear that the movie will certainly move you—either positively or negatively.