Django Unchained Review

“The name’s Django…  D-J-A-N-G-O. The D is silent.”  Anyone who has watched this film will remember this line.

Django Unchained is a Western/drama/adventure flick set in the pre-civil war America when slavery was still in force. It follows Django, a slave, and Dr. King Shultz, a dentist turned bounty hunter as they are on a quest to rescue Django’s wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.

The story opens with Django (Jamie Foxx) and several other slaves being transported to God knows where. Dr. King Shultz (Christoph Waltz) happens upon the transport and seeks to purchase Django from the convoy to help him find some three fugitives. Thus the story begins.

This film is a good period film that did not hold anything back regarding its brutal portrayal of the time. Never have I heard the ‘N’ word uttered so much in a film before. Apart from having big Hollywood stars; Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L Jackson and Kerry Washington, it feels like an indie film. The film, like all Quentin Tarantino films is different from the rest of Hollywood. Quentin pushes the envelope and makes movies that bend many cinematic rules and grab the audience by the eyeballs.  Django Unchained is no different in its graphic portrayal of violence and blood. Classic Quentin style.

Dialogue. This is one of the things that sets this film apart from most. I think it is safe to say that Quentin Tarantino is arguably the best dialogue writer in the industry. The dialogue in this film enhances the humor, pacing, disgust and characters. With the dialogue you can differentiate one character from the other which is a good thing. The film opens a bit slowly, but the dialogue keeps you locked into the world. Mr. Candie (DiCaprio) and Dr. Shultz (Waltz), I would say were my favorite characters in terms of dialogue.

The acting was brilliant, because of good casting. Casting actors that dive into a character and make them their own, is a major pillar in a film. Every single actor from the biggest to the extras did their job and did it well. The characters looked real and natural. Each did exactly what was needed done for the sake of the story. This was the first time I almost did not see Samuel L Jackson, the actor, oozing from the character he was supposed to be playing. I believe he did a brilliant job.

In terms of cinematography, this was classic Tarantino where the style of shooting is very simple and did not take away from the film. It is very important for the camera to disappear so that the audience may be lost in the story. Each shot was deliberate in what it showed and didn’t show. The sound really helped the camera in telling what was on and off screen. Some of those scenes were indeed carried by the sound rather than the picture.

The writing and directing were  great as well; written and directed in such a realistic way that you can even forgive some of the very outrageous occurrences! The filmmaker has succeeded when you get genuinely disgusted, challenged or scared by a character. Some movies may hold some things back but this went all out. Some of the things you hear are just disgusting and offensive and said so realistically that you forget its just a film.

Overall, this is a beautiful period piece that made light of some very hard matters and made some matters even more disgusting. Well written, well acted and well shot. I had no major issues with this film other than it is a very Quentin Tarantino film. His films are not very mass market. They appeal to a certain crowd. Django is definitely off the chain.

Rating: 4/5

Review submitted by Movie Jabber member Ian Thinji

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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vjys4fjvdM]