Django Unchained (2012)

Quentin Tarantino has always been a favorite director of mine. His movies have never failed to impress me, always going places you never thought they could go. That is to say that Tarantino’s movies have been surprising and unique in the past, but his style has become more recognizable. He has kind of written himself into a corner, making his movies a genre of their own, complete with quirks and mannerisms we now expect to see. His new movie Django Unchained, a story about racially-charged revenge in the Civil War era south, has many of these expected Tarantino qualities. It also proves that he has not lost that ability to surprise.

Jamie Foxx stars as a slave named Django (The d is silent.) who is freed by an almost goofily cheerful German dentist, played by Christoph Waltz with such glee that he practically steals the show. They become bounty hunters together and when Django reveals that his wife is still a slave and that she can also speak German, they set out on a mission to rescue her. This takes them to the plantation of one John Candie, a delightfully evil figure played by Leonardo DiCaprio in a performance of awesome control that is not getting him nearly enough attention. The screenplay by Tarantino is original, inspired by some old Spaghetti westerns, and it puts to rest any of the pre-movie doubts I may have had about his genius as a storyteller. I thought he would struggle to show me anything he hasn’t already, but Django reinforces his other movies’ desire to go places you never thought it would.

What’s most amazing about this movie is how seldom it indulges in style. It is possibly Tarantino’s most mature picture, simple and profound. It handles racism with an uncompromising cruelty that other such movies couldn’t possibly pull off without alienating viewers with its harshness. The typical violence of the film is expectedly ludicrous, with every bullet causing enormous explosions of blood, seeming to enforce the message that we are all the same color paint inside. Some scenes are more disturbing, which will upset queasy individuals, but it is all appropriate and powerful. Violence and racism are disturbing, so a powerful movie must present them as such. Tarantino’s maturity stretches to his actors as well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen DiCaprio so good and Samuel L. Jackson is incredible in a supporting role of steely-eyed ferocity that seems to be getting overlooked.

My only real complaint about the film is that the title character gets a bit lost in the parade of the other more eccentric people of the story, forcing Foxx to be rather bland and forgettable. This may be the result of the way I personally viewed the movie, and others may get more out of the character. Regardless, Django Unchained is a great movie, filled with amazing moments and characters. It is flashy, restrained, frightening, funny, moving and thoroughly unforgettable.

10/10