DJANGO UNCHAINED – REVIEW

DJANGO UNCHAINED – REVIEW

Tarantino has introduced the world to the first Bad-Ass African American Cowboy superhero, and what an introduction it truly is.

They should have a Quentin Tarantino class at university’s and colleges for film students, as Tarantino steps closer and closer to filmmaker’s heaven as his latest venture, Django Unchained, proves that perfect films are a reality. 

The film is set in the South two years before the Civil War; Django Unchained stars Jamie Foxx as Django, a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz). Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty. Honing vital hunting skills, Django remains focused on one goal: finding and rescuing Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), the wife he lost to the slave trade long ago. Django and Schultz's search ultimately leads them to Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), the proprietor of "Candyland," an infamous plantation. Exploring the compound under false pretenses, Django and Schultz arouse the suspicion of Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), Candie's trusted house slave.

Tarantino is truly a master filmmaker and Django Unchained pays testament to this. With its sweeping shots, near perfect cinematography, his humorous yet smart dialogue, his choice in music and cues to bring in those tantalizing beats in at just the right moment makes him a director unlike any other.

Django is truly a remarkable film, as its contains all the sensibilities of spaghetti-westerns of old, yet it’s the perfect sanctification and mergence of Tarantino’s unique style with a psychedelic charm about itself.

As the film is set in a time in history that most would have thought was disparate, as cowboys and slavery wasn’t a really an image that went together. It turns out, while the west was flourishing thanks to the gold rush, the south never evolved, and slavery remained to be a reality, instead of history.

Like Inglorious Bastards, Tarantino decidedly chose to re-write abit of that history, having Django (a freed slave) getting some revenge.

Tarantino could have easily told this story by really avoiding the horrors and evil that was slavery and told the story differently. However, I’m sure we would have got a less compelling story if that was the case. No, Tarantino dove head-on into a territory that not a lot of directors would be willing to go. By embracing all these facets of slavery giving us an uncensored film, that showcased the true evil, torture and pain that these people had to endure.

Its for that reason that Django Unchained resonates so well with its audience, why it respects and honours the history of the slaves, while Tarantino tells his own fictionalized story set in that time. Tarantino paints a clear picture, without distorting it, without trying to sedate its audience by having us believe it wasn’t that bad. Django is probably the most vivid, most lucid, depiction of slavery during this time in history.

 As the film moves forward, it never quite shakes off the horror that has permeated the atmosphere, as it grounds the film. There is a sense of melancholy that surrounds the film, even through its lighter moments and its bloody action; it’s a film that never loses its plot, its serious undertones and its heroic duo of Schultz and Django.

Django is high on everything, high on emotion, action, romance, love, resilience, humor, drama, pain, joy, its even high on blood. It would seem that the entire film is being told with a particular heightened sense of things, whereby everything that we see, hear and feel has just been amplified, whilst its never in excess or lacking of anything. It’s a film that is perfectly balanced and filled with everything you would want in a film.

As for performances, this is truly one hell of an exceptional cast, as each and every person in this cast does a phenomenal job. I have to admit that I was a little skeptical about Jamie Fox playing the role of Django, but he has certainly surpassed my expectations. Jamie is wonderful in the role that could easily become one of his most famous roles. Fox is perfectly poised, playing the serious, placid, tempered Django.

Jamie grew up in the South, which helped him better then most, as he never looks out of place and his totally capitulated by everything around him. Jamie was already comfortable with gun, something that is quite obvious in the film, and he even used his own horse for the film. Needless to say Jamie is perfect in the role.

Kerry Washington once again plays Jamie’s wife on screen (first time being in Ray), this time she plays Broomhilde Django’s wife. Kerry is certainly showing off her talents and prowess in the role, as she as to dives through a range of emotions cementing her as the heart of the film.

It’s been 16 years since the last time Leonardo DiCaprio has not been given top billing in the credits, which goes to prove how much actors really just want to work with Tarantino. Even so, Leo proves why his one of the best actors of our time, as his magnetic presence onscreen is enchanting, while the masterful appalling language that flows ever so briskly out his mouth is a little disconcerting.

I have a feeling that Leo might finally found the role that would lead him to his first Oscar win.

Django Unchained is a deplorable love fest, which entertains, intrigues and amazes while dealing with a serious ethical narrative. While most would let you believe that Django is a film that exploits slavery and paints the white people as an evil that should be eradicated. Its really a film about two men at opposite ends of the spectrum, who both have to work through their racial demons in order to achieve their goal and at the end, they develop a brotherly friendship.

Its quite clear that all of Tarantino’s past films have been preparing him for this, whether it was crafting a compelling narrative (Pulp Fiction), hitting all the right musical cue’s (Reservoir Dogs), the surreal violence (Kill Bill) and re-writing history (Inglorious Bastards), this has been the film that holds everything that makes a Tarantino film so great, and then it’s amplified to new heights by its spaghetti-western love affair.

Django Unchained is definitely a film that you do not want to miss.

Our Rating

10/10