First Clip from Steve McQueen's '12 Years A Slave' Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor

Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave was probably considered the frontrunner in the Best Picture race already, but with Grace of Monaco, Foxcatcher, and possibly The Wolf of Wall Street moving into 2014, its prospects are even greater. The reviews out of Telluride and Toronto have been nothing short of phenomenal, and now we're getting just a taste of what they were all raving about.

The first clip has been released and it features star Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northrop, a free black man tricked by a phony job offer and kidnapped into twelve years of slavery. This footage isn't one that I remember from the novel, taking place before he is captured, shopping with his wife in a white man's store. The scene takes a poignant turn as Northrup is reminded that his situation is one not afforded to most blacks. It also serves as an ominous precursor to the trials that await him.

12 Years A Slave opens on October 18th and stars Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ruth Negga, Quvenzhane Wallis, Sarah Paulson, Scoot McNairy, Garrett Dillahunt, Alfre Woodard, Dwight Henry, and Michael K. Williams. Check out a few new images below, as well.