Django Unchained-2012

Director Quentin Tarantino

Starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz

Top 250 Films #116

Scott’s Review #699

Reviewed November 26, 2017

Grade: A

Quentin Tarantino, the brilliant filmmaker, can do very little wrong in my opinion, and he releases yet another masterpiece with 2012’s Django Unchained, a western story centering around the delicate subject matter of slavery.

Like several other talented directors’ stories, the main focus here is a revenge-driven tale with plenty of bloody scenes and stylistic ferociousness, making Django Unchained yet another masterpiece in the Tarantino collection.

Certainly not for the faint of heart, the film will please fans of film creativity and artistic achievement.

As with many Tarantino films, a stellar cast is used, and each actor is cast to perfection- it seems almost every actor in Hollywood is dying to appear in the director’s films.

This time, Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Samuel L. Jackson are the lucky ones, all featured in prominent roles- not surprisingly, the acting is top-notch.

An interesting fact to note is that whoever appears in a Tarantino film seems to be having the time of their lives- what creative freedom and interesting material to experience.

A comparable director to Tarantino, in terms of recruiting fine actors, is Robert Altman, who was also tremendously popular with talent.

The saga begins with clear Western flair as Django Freeman (Foxx) is led through the scorching heat of Texas with a group of other enslaved Black people, presumably to be sold by their abusive white captors.

The time is 1858, and the abolition of slavery has not yet occurred; the Civil War is still two years away.

Doctor King Schultz (Waltz), a former dentist and current bounty hunter, is on a mission to find and kill the Brittle brothers and realizes Django can help him find them.

To complicate matters, Django has been separated from his wife Broomhilda (Washington) and vows to find her and avenge her abductors.

As circumstances lead Schultz and Django to a vast Tennessee estate, the duo becomes business partners and friends. The race to rescue Broomhilda takes the pair to sunny (and equally hot) Mississippi- the home of vicious Calvin Candie (DiCaprio) and his dreaded “Candyland”.

The crackling heat and atmospheric nature of Django Unchained, combined with the revenge theme, make the film an immeasurable success.

An ode to spaghetti westerns of yesteryear, the film incorporates similar music and grit so that the result is a modernized version of those films, with lots more blood and violence.

Slavery is a tough subject matter to tackle, especially when members of the Ku Klux Klan are featured, but Tarantino does so effortlessly. As Django takes revenge on his tormentors, the audience gets a lot of satisfaction.

The indignities and downright abuse that several black characters suffer can be quite tough to sit through.

The climactic dinner scene in Mississippi is splendid and the film’s best sequence.

Schultz and Django dine with Calvin at his spectacular mansion. Calvin’s sinister and loyal house slave (Jackson) suspects a devious plan is about to be hatched, and a vicious shoot-out erupts between the parties involved.

The ingenious, drawn-out sequence is a cat-and-mouse affair, with all the characters tiptoeing around the others for fear of being revealed as imposters.

The scene is exceptional in its craft as we watch the characters dine on delectable food and drink, all the while motivations bubble under the surface.

Django Unchained is not for film-goers seeking either a linear story or a mainstream piece of blockbuster movie-making-Tarantino is not a typical Hollywood guy.

The film is exceptionally crafted and constructed a challenge the viewer to endure what some of the characters (specifically Django and Broomhilda) are made to go through.

This discomfort and horror make the inevitable revenge all the sweeter and more satisfying.

Quentin Tarantino has created masterpiece after masterpiece throughout his filmography.

Proudly, I can herald 2012’s Django Unchained as one of the director’s finest and will be remembered for decades to come for challenging, provoking thought, and satisfying legions of his fans.

Oscar Nominations: 2 wins-Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor-Christoph Waltz (won), Best Original Screenplay (won), Best Sound Editing, Best Cinematography