British director Steve McQueen (Hunger, Shame) chooses hard subjects for his feature films. To different masters, his main characters are captive and often powerless. Although it's difficult to watch their struggles against cruelty and emptiness — even when self-inflicted — it's far from its own type of masochism. Yes, McQueen films with an unflinching eye, but he never fails to use his artistry to create a type of visual poetry out of misery and offering hope, if not redemption. Read the rest of the review here.