Fantastic movie that lives up to the hype. I wasn't a big fan of either Hunger or Shame, but I absolutely love 12 Years A Slave. It was wonderfully-directed. Acting performances are good to great all around. Fassbender is outstanding in the role, his mannerisms were spot on as the manic, abusive and despicable slave-driver.Chiwetel Ejiofor is fantastic. His acting strength lies in the emotional and physical struggle conveyed through body language, especially his eyes. I can see and feel the anguish and pain just by his stares. It was a powerful, but not the in-your-face type of performance, and I love that. Another performance that also caught my attention is by Lupita Nyong'o in the role of Patsey. But really, they were all good. Definitely completely a characters-driven movie and succeeded at that.Storytelling was very effective, I felt engaged throughout. The rawness and sensitive nature of the subject involved was handled, in my opinion, in the most-suited way. Slavery, racism, violence were shown in all their brutality and cruelty, it left you shaken and disgusted. The movie's cinematography and scores were good. It was, overall, a very well-made movie. A