Django Unchained

 

Strange as it may sound, I think Quentin Tarantino was trying to make a fun little feel good movie with Django Unchained.  It's a highly effective action film, driven by a simple but effective love story underneath, where the good guys ride in to punish the bad guys, for the simple reason that the villains are doing wrong to other people.  It's the very basic description of many a feel-good blockbuster.  Tarantino follows this successful formula, and throws in his gift of dialogue, extreme but well-executed violence, and moments of genuine laugh out loud humor.  This is not only the best of the big Christmas releases, it's one of the better films of 2012.

At its core, Django is a revenge story.  This is something that Tarantino has experience in, most notably the Kill Bill movies.  However, unlike Uma Thurman's The Bride, Jamie Foxx's Django is not driven solely by punishing the people who have wronged him in the past.  His main goal is to be reunited with the only woman who has ever meant anything to him.  That would be Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), whom Django was married to at one time, until they were separated and sold to different people by slave owners.  Django's story is set two years before the Civil War, so when we first see him, he's a slave, most likely set to a life working on a plantation.  But then, he has a chance encounter with one Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), a dentist-turned-bounty hunter.  Schultz needs a freed slave to help him identify his latest bounty, and when Django's owners won't part him him, he resorts to other methods to set Django free, and introduce him to the world of "killing bad people for money".

The first half of the film resembles a buddy film of sorts, as the German Dr. Schultz takes Django under his wing, teaches him his business, and promises to help him track down his wife when the time comes.  The relationship that builds between the two really works, thanks to the wonderful chemistry between Foxx and Waltz.  As Django, Foxx hasn't been this good since he won the Oscar for Ray.  This is a wonderful role for him, filled with passion, drama, and humor.  He also pulls off the film's numerous gunfights and action sequences with ease.  As for Waltz, he's playing a very different character than the last Tarantino film he was in, but he is no less effective.  As the elegantly-spoken, witty, yet highly dangerous Dr. Schultz, Waltz seems to be constantly walking the fine line between noble stability, and a hair-trigger violent side that can erupt at a moment's notice.  We spend so much time with the two and the relationship that builds between them that we can't help but be attracted to them.

The second and main part of the movie occurs when the two finally track down Django's wife, and who bought her.  Their search leads them to the plantation of the slimy Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio, obviously relishing his over the top villain role), where he keeps Broomhilda as a maid and occasional sex toy at the request of his guests.  The doctor and Django arrive at Calvin's home, under the guise of wanting to purchase one of his slaves.  However, Calvin's personal slave and butler, Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), sees through the ruse instantly, and threatens to ruin everything.  Where the movie goes from there, I will not reveal.  One of the joys of Django Unchained is how it continuously surprised and delighted me with each plot development.  The film is nearly three hours long, but it earns it.  Tarantino is telling a captivating story here, and rushing it would rob us of some of the richer character developments his screenplay provides.

You've probably heard by now that this is a very violent movie, and yes, it is.  But it is also a joyous one.  The movie is never mean spirited in its violence.  It's explosive, exciting, and often over the top.  And besides, Tarantino is more interested in getting us into these characters, than just having them shoot each other.  When the bullets do start flying, it is often spectacular.  But what's even more so is that we are drawn into the action, because we already have involvement with the characters.  I mentioned earlier that part of this movie is a buddy film, which I think may be a first for Tarantino (I could be wrong).  He develops his characters so well, and gives them such great dialogue that we fall in love with them.  Even the more unsavory types, such as DiCaprio's character, are given dialogue to make sure that they are not simple, cardboard cutout villains.  A lot of thought went into this script, and it shows in nearly every scene.

As is to be expected, Tarantino has gathered some wonderful actors.  I've already talked about Foxx, Waltz, and DiCaprio, but one actor's performance who I don't think hasn't gotten a lot of attention is Samuel L. Jackson.  Maybe it's because his character mainly stays in the background in a lot of his scenes, but in a way, that makes him all the more dangerous.  He is watching the heroes, and threatening to blow their scheme at any moment.  It creates some genuine tension, and Jackson is very good once he steps forward, and reveals his true intentions.  Also as is to be expected, Tarantino has taken a former celebrity, and given him a second chance.  In this case, it's Don Johnson in a supporting role as a "Big Daddy" Southern Gentleman-type.  His screen time is brief, but he gets a lot of laughs.  There are also cameos for Jonah Hill, Bruce Dern, Robert Carridine, and many others to look out for.

 

Django Unchained is a constantly surprising spectacle of action, dark humor, romance, and thrilling adventure.  It does so many things right, it's almost depressing that more films can't figure out what this one knows.  It's a perfect blend of characterization, and edge of your seat excitement.  Tarantino has made more than just a tribute to the classic Westerns.  He has made his own skillful movie, one which sits amongst some of his greatest film achievements.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

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