Django Unchained (2012)
Certified: 18
Duration: 165 minutes
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Walton Goggins, Dennis Christopher, James Remar, Laura Cayouette
KRS release
Director Quentin Tarantino lets loose the film geek/nerd inside him in Django Unchained. It is really good to see that Hollywood has not yet managed to tie down this video-store maverick and that cinema can still be such a giddy pleasure ride.
The film shows how slavery was a huge blot in America’s past and Tarantino surely does not portray a pretty picture
Winner of two Golden Globes and nominated for five Oscars, the film is not made to cater for award sensibilities.
It panders to the rule of trying to present a unique cinematic vision as much as possible and is not afraid to get its hands dirty by delving into the B-movie repertoire that Tarantino loves so much.
Christoph Waltz plays Dr King Schultz, a German bounty hunter who in 1863 is successfully plying his trade in the uncultured West. He is trailing the Brittle brothers for a hefty bounty; the only problem is he has no idea what they look like.
That is when he meets Django (Jamie Foxx) – pronounced Jango as the D is silent – a slave who knows these brothers. Schultz decides tobuy him and offers him his freedom: all he wants in return is that he helps him find and identify the Brittle brothers.
Django soon turns out to be more than a bloodhound as he is very adept with guns and is soon quite happy in the bounty business: “getting paid to kill white folks for money!”
The duo eventually finds the bad brothers at a plantation owned by the eccentric Spencer Bennett (Don Johnson).
After a winter hunting down wanted people in the mountains, they head down to Mississippi to look for another slave, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), Django’s wife. They learn that she ended up in the plantation known as Candyland.
Candyland is owned by the infamous Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) who specialises in breeding slaves for Mandingo fighting. Under the pretence that they want to buy one of his best slaves by making a ridiculous offer, Dr Schultz and Django make their way to Candyland. However, Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), Candie’s master slave, confidant and house administrator, is suspicious of them. All this will finally explode into an orgy of violence.
A Spaghetti Western at its core, Django Unchained is inspired by various films of the genre. The main inspirations, however, are Sergio Cobucci’s Django (1966) and Il Grande Silenzio (1968), and also Richard Fleischer’s Mandingo (1975). Italian actor Franco Nero, who was the star of Django, has a cameo slot in this film that is simply spot on.
Tarantino knows how to shoot violence and it never seems to be out of place in his movies: Inglourious Basterds (2009), Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Kill Bill (2003) are prime examples.
Django Unchained shows how slavery was a huge blot in America’s past and Tarantino surely does not portray a pretty picture.
However, there are also moments of pure unadulterated humour that will catch you off guard. Foxx doing horse-riding tricks as if he were a circus act is one of these.
The dialogue is funny, precise and sharp, giving the cast the chance to deliver characterful and arresting performances. DiCaprio is disgusting as Calvin Candie; Jackson is snivelling and evil; Johnson is eccentric and posh; Goggins is as inane as they come; and Foxx has the time of his life.
The best performance has to be that of Waltz, who delivers a very likeable and articulate character.
Tarantino has the uncanny knack for combining the best music to the happenings on screen. The film sports classic tracks which are given a refreshing touch, new tracks from the likes of Rick Ross (100 Black Coffins) and John Legend (Who Did That To You?) and a collaboration between Ennio Morricone and Elisa (Ancora qui), which is simply haunting.