Chiwetel Ejiofor delivered his usual brilliant performance; he is one of the most compelling leading men around. McQueen has a great eye, and the cinematographer captures his vision. The film is often beautiful.

And yet...and yet...the screenplay (some of the characters sound as if they are in a Shakespearean play) is uneven, crushingly slow at some points, and the acting of several of the secondary characters is, in some cases, not good. McQueen should have done additional takes rather than let some of those early scenes stand. At any rate, he does not seem to be an actor's director.

And, while the subject of slavery in the US is a deep subject, the film seemed hollow; there was no real attempt at character development or background.

Back to Ejiofor. Without him, the movie would be a 3 or 4.