1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- Django Unchained

#1153- Django Unchained (2012)
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino


Plot Summary: In the year 1858, Django is freed from a life of slavery thanks to a dentist named Dr. King Schultz. There is more to this German dentist, however, as he is also a bounty hunter who recruits Django to be his partner and apprentice in tracking down wanted men. Django tells Schultz of how he was separated from his wife, Broomhilda, and Schultz, feeling responsible for Django, agrees to help him find her. Schultz uncovers the identity of Broomhilda's owner as Calvin Candie, the owner of a slave plantation where slaves are forced to wrestle in "Mandingo fights." Schultz devises a plan for him and Django to meet with Calvin at his plantation, Candyland, with an interest in buying one of Calvin's prized fighters, purchase Broomhilda on the side, and disappear from the plantation before the deal can be finalized. However, with many resources on his plantation, including a loyal house slave named Stephen, Calvin might make it very difficult for Django and Dr. Schultz to escape Candyland with Broomhilda so easily.


Last time, I was discussing what a great director like Quentin Tarantino could bring to the table for the gangster genre. Tarantino's most recent release, Django Unchained, offers the same style of filmmaking that Tarantino is famous for, but incorporates it in a much different genre, the Western. Django Unchained is usually labelled as Tarantino's tribute to the genre of spaghetti Westerns, but this month will be used to look at all variations of the Western genre. This film is all the more unique for combining a very controversial issue of race within a revenge type of action film, which incorporates Tarantino's equally controversial approach to on-screen violence, while also utilizing a great group of characters that are all acted wonderfully, and placing all of these elements in an iconic genre of film that had been left unnoticed from a modern audience for quite some time.

Jamie Foxx stars as Django Freeman (the D is silent). Django isn't a super complex character, as he has two main objectives, revenge for slavery and finding his wife, Broomhilda, played by Kerry Washington. Just because his motivations are simple, doesn't mean they aren't good. In fact, the simpler his motivations are, the easier it is for the audience to relate. Apart from that, the only other main thing about Django as a character is that he's "cool." Just look at what he wears, what he says, and the way he does many things throughout the film, and tell me that Jamie Foxx isn't trying his hardest to make sure Django is a "cool" character. He's no Samuel L. Jackson (the irony of that statement awaits in a few paragraphs), but Django is still able to be ruthless when he needs to, while maintain his composure, the epitome of a BA (you know what I mean, so I won't say it) character.

One of Django's biggest problems as a character is that he is considerably "bland" in comparison to many other characters that steal the show, including his partner in bounty hunting, Dr. King Schultz, played by. Christoph Waltz. There's something so charismatic about a character like Dr. Schultz that leaves the audience entertained by everything he says and does. There is a story to be told about Schultz (one I'd LOVE to see one day) that the audience does not get to see upon his introduction, but are left wanting to fill in the blanks and know more about him. From his knowledge of being a bounty hunter, to his skills with weaponry, to his horse (his horse freaking bows his head when his name is said...AMAZING). One of the greatest aspects of many great Tarantino characters are in the little things they do, and Dr. Schultz encompasses many great "little" qualities and facets that make up a memorable character.

An example made great through the reputation of the actor is through the film's main antagonist Calvin Candie, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio plays Candie as a villain the audience can "love to hate." He is so humorous and witty in some scenes, yet vicious and threatening when he needs to be. One of the most infamous moments involving DiCaprio's performance includes a scene where he breaks a glass in a fit of rage. For the record, DiCaprio actually broke the glass by mistake, continued the scene, and THAT was the take they used for the film (and this guy doesn't have an Academy Award because...!?!?!?). You can see the authority that Calvin holds over everyone based on how he carries himself and is in control of all that's around him. He's not as detestable villain as you would think, but is rather one where you admit that while what he's doing is so horrible, he has a certain style and class to his reputation which is actually kinda respectable (emphasis on kinda).

The film's widely covered controversial topic of racism is epitomized through the character of Stephen, played by Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson plays a very stereotypical slave character and is one of many characters to use colorful (no pun intended) vernacular towards slaves. It isn't exactly considered offensive to hear characters like Django and Stephen use the phrases, but it is when it is said by slave owners like Calvin and Big Daddy, played by Don Johnson. I can admit to feeling uncomfortable whenever one of those words were uttered, no matter the skin color of the character, because I felt it was excessive, but if you know Tarantino's style, he thrives off of excessive (just look at the amount of blood in this movie), so I really shouldn't have found it THAT surprising. It's very self-aware, and makes it offensive, but in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way (including one surprising hilarious scene involving the KKK, and that's all I'll say about that).

Like I said above, Django Unchained is able to incorporate all of those qualities into one film, but perhaps the biggest contribution the film has in history is by creating a resurgence of popularity in creating an epic film in the form of a Western. The sets and costumes are so lavish that the film is given an iconic look that captures an aesthetic befitting of the Western genre, but with a modern spin on all of it. The best thing Tarantino could have done for this film is to display that the genre could continue to thrive with a modern audience and that it could evolve through the vision of a modern filmmaker, and that's just what he did.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Perhaps the greatest thing I can say about Django Unchained as a film is that for a near 3 hour runtime, the film has some of the best natural pacing I've ever seen for a film. Add that to an amazing cast of characters created by an amazing director, and you have a film that I would recommend everyone should see and own in their DVD collection.

Comment below to share your thoughts on the movie or to discuss a topic that I left out of my review

Django Unchained and movie images are copyrighted by The Weinstein Company