In Quentin Tarantino's latest revenge
fantasy Django Unchained, Jamie Foxx plays the titular slave
who is freed from bondage by the eccentric Dr. King Schultz
(Christoph Waltz) to become his partner in bounty hunting. As much as
Django likes his new job of “killing white folks for money”, his
bigger yen is to rescue his wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) from
the plantation where she serves the childlike but intangibly
dangerous Calvin Candi (Leonardo DiCaprio).
While a great deal of Django
Unchained is very enjoyable, it is self-indulgent to a fault. I
understand that criticizing a Tarantino film for being indulgent is
like criticizing the sky for being blue, but the excesses of this
movie really makes you feel the length of it. At 165 minutes, it's a
picture as badly in need of a trim as our unshackled, unshaven
ex-slave is at the beginning of it.
The loud, over-the-top liberties Tarantino takes also drown out its pointed commentary. Somewhere in that verbose, action-packed screenplay is a barbed critique of a particularly dark chapter of American history (the ramifications of which permeate through to modern society), but it struggles to be heard amidst the gunfire and blood splatter – which, by the way, are outstandingly realized by sound editor Wylie Stateman.
Mind you, if this is what you love
about Tarantino, Django Unchained has a lot for you to relish.
Being his love letter to the spaghetti Western (although it bears
even closer resemblance to the Blaxploitation flics of the 70s),
there's enough gore and gunpowder here to make Sam Peckinpah himself
nod with approval, as there are striking images captured by Robert
Richardson's dynamic camera to make Sergio Leone proud.
As always with this enfant terrible,
the affectations of Tarantino's dialogue allow actors opportunities
they would rarely get on other films. Leonardo DiCaprio stands out as
the ruthless cotton king, allowing his malicious venom to simmer
beneath a slightly fey surface before bursting forth in one
absolutely terrifying bravura scene. Samuel L. Jackson also gives a
great turn as Candi's black-hating butler Stephen, walking the fine
line between comic panache and sly nastiness.
Not everyone makes good. Christoph
Waltz, while funny as the dentist-turned-bounty-hunter, basically
delivers a carbon copy of his Oscar-winning performance as Hans Landa
in Inglourious Basterds. And Kerry Washington's acting talents
are wasted here on a McGuffin role that gives her little to do but
suffer or look enticing.
All in all, Django Unchained is
an audacious, long-winded payback saga that sends mixed messages but
at least manages to entertain.
**1/2 out of ****
