12 Years a Slave poster

12 Years a Slave

2013134 minutesR
5.1
Arcplot Score
📝 Unconventional
Unverified
⭐ 8.1IMDb
🍅 95%Rotten Tomatoes
Ⓜ️ 96/100Metacritic
🎬 7.9TMDb
📊 6.2Popularity
🏆Won 3 Oscars. 244 wins & 338 nominations total
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Directed by: Steve McQueen
Based on an incredible true story of one man's fight for survival and freedom. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty personified by a malevolent slave owner, as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon's chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.

Box Office

Budget:$20.0M
Revenue:$187.0M
Profit:$167.0M

Arcplot Score Breakdown

Beat Timing Precision3.4/10
Emotional Arc Impact10/10
Thematic Consistency2/10
Overall Score5.1/10

Beat Sheet

15 plot points

12 Years a Slave Arcplot
1
Opening Image
1 min
2
Theme Stated
10 min
3
Set-Up
22 min
4
Catalyst
34 min
5
Debate
46 min
6
Break Into Two
58 min
7
B Story
70 min
8
Fun and Games
90 min
9
Midpoint
105 min
10
Bad Guys Close In
115 min
11
All Is Lost
123 min
12
Dark Night of the Soul
128 min
13
Break Into Three
130 min
14
Finale
132 min
15
Final Image
134 min

Emotional Arc

+100-10

Plot Points

#1

Opening Image

1 min

Solomon Northup free man in New York; happy family and music; peaceful life introduced.

#2

Theme Stated

10 min

Freedom, dignity, and survival; injustice and human cruelty explored.

#3

Set-Up

22 min

Solomon lured to Washington D.C.; kidnapped and sold into slavery; initial shock and disbelief.

#4

Catalyst

34 min

Arrival on plantation; harsh treatment; immediate threat to life and autonomy.

#5

Debate

46 min

Should he submit or resist? Survival vs. maintaining humanity.

#6

Break Into Two

58 min

Adapts to plantation life; befriends some slaves; plots mental resilience and eventual escape.

#7

B Story

70 min

Relationships with other slaves; emotional bonds; moral support.

#8

Fun and Games

90 min

Daily labor, small acts of resistance; navigating brutality; tension and strategy.

#9

Midpoint

105 min

Witnesses atrocities; false hope when believing escape may succeed; stakes personal and moral.

#10

Bad Guys Close In

115 min

Owner cruelty intensifies; punishment, danger, and despair rise; freedom threatened.

#11

All Is Lost

123 min

Temporarily loses chance for communication; hope for freedom fades; despair peak.

#12

Dark Night of the Soul

128 min

Reflects on family, faith, and endurance; emotional low point; inner strength summoned.

#13

Break Into Three

130 min

Final efforts for rescue and documentation; opportunity arises for freedom.

#14

Finale

132 min

Freed through legal intervention; reunion with family; justice partially served.

#15

Final Image

134 min

Solomon back home; dignity and survival intact; mirror of opening, but freedom reclaimed.