12 Years a Slave · written by John Ridley and Steve McQueen · 2013

The exhausted slaves dance for Epps; his wife throws a carafe at Patsey and demands she be sold, but Epps refuses and orders the dance to continue as Patsey is dragged out bleeding.

Scene 132 of 211 · ≈ 2 min on screen · Act two

Epps
Mistress Epps

Act oneAct twoAct three

Begins 1:24 into a 2:22 film

The story so farBefore scene 132

After being kidnapped from New York and sold into slavery, Solomon Northup uses his skills and carefully placed trust to survive and seek a way back to his family.

Scenes 1–29
Solomon lives freely in Saratoga as a husband, father, worker, and musician.
Scenes 30–65
Kidnapped and held under the imposed name Platt, Solomon must preserve his life and identity.
Scenes 66–123
He enters plantation life under Ford, passes through Tibeats’s violence and the near-lynching, and is transferred to Epps.
Scene 124
Solomon is transferred to Epps’s plantation and placed among Patsey and the enslaved workers, opening the harsher final plantation phase.
Just before
Scene 129
After the fieldwork, enslaved people continue their chores feeding animals, washing, and preparing food.
Scene 130
The cabin workers cook their meal while Abram delivers a fervent speech celebrating General Jackson and praying that he rule them.
Scene 131
A drunken Epps wakes the sleeping slaves and orders them to dance.
Scene 132
This scene

132INT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/MAIN HOUSE - NIGHT

Despite the lateness of the hour, the slaves are up and now fully dressed. They take up position in the middle of the floor. They wait, poised like actors... Solomon strikes up a tune and the slaves dance. They do so very wearily. The whole of it certainly more torture than pleasure.

Epps, whip in hand:

EPPS

Where's yah merriment? Move yer

feet.

As the slaves twirl about Epps keeps an attentive eye on Patsey. It should be quite clear that his primary motivation for holding dances is so that he may view Patsey twirl about the floor.

This fact is not lost on the Mistress Epps. A few moments of Epps's lust on display is all that the Mistress can bear. Jealousy mounting, she snatches up a CARAFE. With all her might she throws it at Patsey. It hits Patsey square in the face. TOO THICK TO SHATTER, IT LEAVES HER BLOODY AND WRITHING ON THE FLOOR. The dancing, the music stop. The slaves, however, react as though it is not the first time they've seen as much from the Mistress.

Mistress Epps, screaming like a hellion:

MISTRESS EPPS

Sell her!

EPPS

C'mon, now. Wha's this?

MISTRESS EPPS

You will sell the negress!

EPPS

You're talkin' foolish. Sell

little Pats? She pick with more

vigor than any other nigger!

Choose another ta go.

MISTRESS EPPS

No other. Sell her!

EPPS

I will not!

MISTRESS EPPS

You will remove that black bitch

from this property, 'er I'll take

myself back to Cheneyville.