12 Years a Slave illustrates a dark spot in American history – it shares the the powerful story of a free black man who was tragically kidnapped into slavery for twelve years. Not only is it a unique perspective and tale, but the adaptation of the memoir was beautifully and meticulously crafted and will surely be a competitive contender at the Academy Awards in early 2014.

In 1841, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a free black man living in Saratoga Springs, New York. He earns a living for himself, wife, and two young children through his beautiful talent of playing the violin. When offered a two week position playing in a circus in Washington D.C., he accepts, and travels South with the two circus recruiters.

Overly trusting of the two men who brought him to Washington, they get Northup drunk at dinner one night, kidnap him, and sell him into slavery. Northup wakes up the next morning in chains, and then is put on a ship in the poorest of conditions, and is traded until he is sold to work on a plantation in Louisiana.

Throughout the twelve years, his name is changed against his will to Platt, and spends over half a score in slavery under two owners. His personal struggles, disputes with his masters, and relationships between other slaves are chronicled in the story.

Despite the unimaginable circumstances and conditions he lived through, Northup’s hope, optimism, and desire to be treated as an equal was an ever-burning candle in his soul which he clung onto to eventually escape his enslavement. When on a ship down to Louisiana with others to be sold into slavery, another man gives Northup advice on how to act in order to survive. Northup replies, “I don’t want to survive. I want to live.”

Although many graphic and powerful moments most likely hardened his heart and provided him a new perspective on how unfortunately cruel humans are capable of being, his hunger to live his life, not merely survive his life, yielded him the gift of freedom.

12 Years a Slave has already earned much Oscar buzz, and rightfully so for a plethora of reasons. The film was adapted from Northup’s own memoir of the same name. Therefore, not only is the film presumably very historically accurate, but the manner which screenwriter John Ridley chose to bring Northup’s 19th century words to the 21st century film industry was uniquely creative.

The use of both silence and music were subtle, yet powerful tools to convey the emotions and struggles of the kidnapped man. There are many scenes of Northup performing his violin throughout the film, but most notably, there are a few scenes where he begins to play when a stressful situation – usually between masters and slaves – breaks out, in order to calm those around him.

There are also times, in emotional scenes, when all the background dialogue somewhat abruptly fades out and instead the soundtrack becomes the only audio. In these circumstances, the audience is able to fully collect the emotional state of the scene, as well as another one of Hans Zimmer’s flawless and heart-wrenching scores.

In contrast to the element of music, both in terms of soundtrack and as a medium to have the audience emotionally involved, silence was another strong aspect to emotionally engage the audience. In many scenes, such as when Northup wakes up in chains and realizes he is kidnapped, many graphic and distributing scenes demonstrating how poorly slaves were treated.

Also at the end once he is freed again, all dialogue and music fades out, and there are usually close-up shots of Northup for a minimum of thirty seconds with absolutely no sound. Using the element of silence and single-shots in the midst of heavy points in the plot, gives the audience time to reflect on the situation, and also, emotionally connect with Northup and his mentality.

The acting was nothing less than phenomenal, and many of the actors will undoubtedly be nominated and competitive for awards. Although one of his first major acting roles, Ejiofor’s portrayal of Northup is stunning – and he’ll most likely be 2014’s fresh face in the picks for Best Actor at the Oscars. His ability to act convincingly and emotionally engage the audience, through zero dialogue, is not an easy feat for any actor.

That being said, however, Michael Fassbender is absolutely beyond brilliant. His performance of Edwin Epps, a constantly drunk, cruel, and self-centered plantation owner is so incredibly convincing that it wouldn’t be surprising if he actually was a drunk and cruel slave owner in a previous life.

In comparison, Benedict Cumberbatch starred as Ford, Northup’s first owner with one of the most gentle hearts (for a slave-owner) in Louisiana. While Cumberbatch’s performance was unsurprisingly stellar, my money is on both Ejiofor and (more so) Fassbender for winning acting awards this season.

While at times extremely graphic, disheartening, and somber, 12 Years a Slave is indisputably a masterpiece. Not only did the perfect mix of the set, actors, and script create an incredible results, but the way in which director Steve McQueen was able to construct a film that so easily and heavily connects with the audience is not an effortless accomplishment, and is a rare one, at that.

Grade: A

Rated: R (for violence/cruelty, some nudity and brief sexuality)

12 Years a Slave opens in theaters on November 1, 2013.