The Man You Love to Hate, ...

this term was once the great silent film star Erich von Stroheim.
Might as well in the recent film history now apply to Michael Fassbender, who acts like a madman here and brings the unpredictable and crazy nature of the slave-owner Edwin Epps congenial to the canvas.
Brad Pitt, producer here and be seen as an actor only in a very short but important role, takes back pleasing and ventured into the movie not the glamor that would certainly not be appropriate for such a topic.
All actors perform at very high levels. Slight criticism would be just the lead role. Chiwetel Eljofor could not convince 100%, but lots Lupita Nyong'o, who brought her mental and physical pain so believable on the screen that you could hardly stand it myself.

Steve McQueen leads safely through the film. Some settings are too long for my taste and not always purposeful, to literary implementation I can not say much because I have not read the book.
In summary, one can say that it is a very good movie, but it's about better.
That is a statement on a very high level when with which competitors he has to deal considering.
Some pros reviewers have indeed called a few examples.
What really annoyed me was just the music of Hans Zimmer (I usually appreciate very much)
The music is certainly good, but ultimately only a variation of Inception. Since I expect from a Oscar winner more.