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

Solomon and Eliza survive smallpox but bear scars; Eliza has lost Randall and is emotionally devastated.

Scene 85 of 211 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act one

Act oneAct twoAct three

Begins 52 min into a 2:22 film

The story so farBefore scene 85

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.
Just before
Scene 82
Clemens dies and the hospital bell tolls; near death, Solomon stares at sunlight refracted through the window.
Scene 83
In a memory, Solomon’s family admires the stained-glass flower Elizabeth made for him, while he prays over the light and his faith.
Scene 84
Back in the ward, Solomon begs God to end his suffering and take his life.
Scene 85
This scene

85INT. HOSPITAL/RECOVERY WARD - LATER

We are in a recovery ward in the hospital. Really, not much different than the sick ward, other than the fact that these PATIENTS have survived the illness and are going to live. We see Solomon sitting up in bed. As with all the other patients, his pustules have abated, but they have left his face and body scarred. HE WILL REMAIN THIS WAY FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE. Yet one more physical reminder of all that he's been through even at this relatively short stage of his enslavement.

As he sits, the door of the ward opens. Eliza is walked in and ushered over to a bed. She, too, has obviously survived the ordeal. But also, as with Solomon, she is now scared as well. Along with having lost a child, her illness seems to have had a substantial negative effect on not just her physical health, but Eliza's mental health as well.

For a moment Solomon and Eliza just sit among the other recovering patients, waiting for what is to come next.

BLACK