Flat-out one of the year's best films.
***** out of 5
165 minutes
Rated R for strong graphic violence throughout, a
vicious fight, language and some nudity
The Weinstein Company
There may be a lot of fantastic films opening this year (particularly with
it being time for Oscar bait), but the one I’ve been waiting for the longest,
Django
Unchained, has definitely wound up being my favorite. Everyone knows I’m
just a tad bit obsessed with Quentin Tarantino films. So much so, that I named
my dog Beatrix Kiddo ala
Kill Bill. While I may have named my most
recent puppy Pixar, that doesn’t mean I’m not inclined to the rest of his
films’ character names. And if I were to ever have a male dog, his name would
be Django (“the D is silent”) after Jamie Foxx’s badass version of the
character, originated by Franco Nero, unleashed in
Django Unchained.
Beginning in 1858, two years before the Civil War, Django is shackled and
chained being hauled away by his new owners, the Speck Brothers (James Remar
and James Russo). Along comes another weary traveler by the name Dr. King
Schultz (Christoph Waltz). Schultz is a German dentist, retired and working in
the States as a bounty hunter. He is currently looking for the Bittle Brothers
— Big John (M.C. Gainey), Ellis (Doc Duhame), and Roger (Cooper Huckabee).
Schultz knows Django knows who they are and acquires a violent bill of sale for
Django so that he can point them out. Django knows what they look like after he
and his wife Broomhilda von Shaft (Kerry Washington) were sold separately from
their original “owners” Curtis Carrucan (Bruce Dern).
After taking down the Bittle Brothers on Big Daddy’s (Don Johnson), a run in
with the country’s most disorganized pre-Ku Klux Klan group, and Schultz taking
Django under his wing teaching him the tricks of his trade, they come to find
out that Broomhilda has been sold to Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). Candie
owns the fourth biggest plantation in Mississippi called “Candyland,” where he
makes money in slave Mandingo fighting. Now Django is on a mission to get back
his wife and continue his new free life under the name Django “Freeman.” But
things eventually go from bad to worse and it becomes a true fight to the
finish against Candie and his gang of henchmen lead by Billy Crash (Walton
Goggins), and Candie’s right hand man Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson).
Anyone who’s ever been to a Tarantino film knows what to expect from his
excellently eclectic musical choices to a cult classics’ collection of
supporting players. Keep your eyes peeled for Franco Nero himself, Tom Savini,
Zoe Bell, and Jonah Hill; along with Michael Parks clearly playing a distant
relative of his Earl McGraw from
Kill Bill,
Grindhouse, and
From
Dusk Till Dawn. Even clocking in at what could have seemed like a bloated,
self-indulgent 165 minutes flies by thanks to his trademark banter and more
intentional laughs than ever. This is as close to a full blown comedy as we may
ever see from Tarantino, and it helps make
Django Unchained his most
accessible as well.
I won’t be surprised to find Waltz’s name getting called again at the
upcoming Oscars with Tarantino writing another brilliant character for him
after he won Best Supporting as Col. Hans Landa for
Inglourious Basterds.
And we could also see a few more Oscar nods, particularly in the way of
cinematography courtesy Robert Richardson. Personally, I couldn’t wait to see
how things moved along with Tarantino’s long-time collaborating editor Sally
Menke having passed on. I have to give Fred Raskin his due for being more than
up to the challenge.
Viewers be warned, however, the film is every bit as violent as you’d expect
out of a Tarantino film, and along with the diatribes comes more use of the
N-word than has been heard in film possibly ever. But don’t let any of this put
you off; unfortunately, that’s just how things were back then. And only
Tarantino could make slavery seem like fun. While
Unchained may not
necessarily be the best film of 2012, it’s definitely my favorite. Fun has a
new name and it’s spelled D-J-A-N-G-O.
Photos courtesy The Weinstein Company
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