Best Actress in a Supporting Role 2013: Lupita Nyong'o in 12 Years a Slave

Lupita Nyong'o won the Oscar from her only nomination to date for her performance as Patsey in 12 Years a Slave.

12 Years a Slave is a compelling movie about the true story of Solomon Northup, a free black man who was abducted and sold into slavery. The movie isn't flawless: it doesn't really handle well the passing of time as it feels like much less than twelve years and some of the characters are a bit underdeveloped. Nonetheless, the merits of the movie easily overshadow the flaws: Steve McQueen's direction is downright amazing (especially in the hanging scene and the whipping one) and even if Alfonso Cuaròn's work in Gravity is brilliant I probably would have voted for McQueen. It's also a movie that carries a tremendous emotional impact and the ending in particular is very moving. 

Patsey is, unfortunately, one of the aforementioned underdeveloped characters in the movie. She is a young slave who is periodically raped by Edwin Epps, the plantation owner, and because of this physically abused by his jealous wife. It's a tragic character and one that naturally evokes a lot of sympathy in the viewer but the truth is that it is also extremely limited at the same time. The performance never quite becomes three-dimensional and it mostly feels rather two-sided: Patsey is either shown as having some sort of childlike innocence or as having an emotional breakdown. Nyong'o mostly portrays does two sides very well but unfortunately Patsey never feels like a fully fleshed-out character. It's a role that is rewarding and thankless at the same time: it's bound to move the audience but at the same time it doesn't offer Nyong'o the opportunity to truly explore the character in depth. 

To be honest, I also don't think that Nyong'o performance is flawless from a technical point of view as I do think that her inexperience sometimes shines through: for example, I don't think that the scene in which Patsey begs Solomon to end her life is entirely convincing. For every good, heartfelt line reading there is one that feels a little too forced, and she switches from good to unconvincing many times during the very same scene. There are also other scenes in which she is actually not bad at all but in which she's a bit overshadowed by the stronger turns from Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender and Sarah Paulson (who is fantastic in the role and would have deserved the nomination more). 

But I don't want to sound negative about her performance because despite the flaws it is still a very powerful piece of work with some unforgettable moments. As I mentioned before, there is an innocence and a genuine sweetness to her performance that makes the character even more heartbreaking: Nyong'o also brings a somewhat luminous quality to her character that makes her stand out from the other characters in the movie and makes Epps' attraction towards her believable and convincing. She also has some silent moments in which the camera focuses on her face that manage to be extremely memorable despite being very brief: for example, the scene in which Solomon comes back to the plantation and we see Patsey's sad, devastated face is quietly heartbreaking and Nyong'o shows an impressive ability to show a lot of emotions just with one look. And of course her best scene occurs when Patsey tearfully confesses Epps that she had left the plantation earlier to get some soap and he forces Solomon to whip her before taking the whip himself and striking her violently. It's a truly harrowing scene to watch and Lupita Nyong'o does a fantastic job in portraying her character's desperation and, then, physical pain. A later scene in which the other slaves try to treat her wounds is also devastating and Nyong'o's close-up during the scene is simply unforgettable. The moment in which I truly realized how powerful her performance actually is is her final scene in which Solomon leaves the plantation for good and they embrace for the last time: in that moment I truly realized how much I had grown to care about Patsey and how much I was going to miss her. Nyong'o makes the scene all the more touching as she shows that while Patsey is happy for Solomon she is devastated about being left at the plantation without her only friend, and the fact that Patsey's fate is left open makes her work even more haunting. 

In the end, this is a good performance from Lupita Nyong'o but unfortunately the limitations of the role prevent her from becoming truly great. But despite the lack of complexity of her work, she nonetheless gives a powerful depiction of her character's plight and leave a lasting, memorable impression.

3.5/5