Django Unchained (2012) Review

The western genre has often been present in Tarantino´s film and now he finally makes a western, paying homage to greats like Sergio Leone. The story, set in the 1800s, follows two bounty hunters, a German Dentist and a slave he freed as they bond and track down the wife of the freed slave.

You can instantly see the Tarantino-isms in the films dialogue, however it wasn’t as bizarre as his last few films. Notably, he dropped the non-linear chapter story telling, giving a more straightforward story. While I really enjoy his odd non-linear story telling, it is nice to see him not relying on it anymore as he has done it a bit much, and so it is nice to see Tarantino mixing it up a bit. I also felt that, as he didn’t rely as much on his style that we got a tighter story this time around. That being said there were moments where I felt certain scenes could have been left out. Take for example the scene with Jonah Hill, it was hilarious, but it felt incredibly out of place even though it was one of the best written scenes in the film and even though I like Jonah Hill, the fact the he was there to effortlessly blurt out like two lines just made him kind of distracting and unnecessary.

One thing that has to be mentioned is the acting; there are so many incredible performances in this movie that I want to say almost everyone steels the show. My favourite is probably going to have to be Cristoph Waltz. From the trailers I thought he was going to be similar to his Oscar winning performance in Inglorious Basterds, but it was very different and he was hugely likable and even had some touching moments. If he got the Oscar again, I wouldn’t mind at all. Another great performance is DiCaprio, taking a risk in a role we have never really seen him in before, as a vile plantation owner, and trust me he is really cruel. Possible just as cruel is Samuel Jackson character, but damn was he funny at the same time. I would almost say that Jackson has been snubbed for nominations during awards season, because that guy was just fantastic. Jamie Foxx is in a less funny role as the quiet lead and he did a very good job as well.  

Now like I mentioned above, I enjoyed Tarantino´s directing maybe more then ever before here, simply because while he had his Tarantinoesque style in there, it wasn’t too much and too over-bearing. That being said there were a few of his usual out place music choices that didn’t work for me. From what I remember there were two hip-hop songs used and while one worked very well, the other was a bit distracting and felt wrong.

In the second half of the film Tarantino reached a place of brilliance I don’t think he has ever been before in the scenes with Jackson and DiCaprio, and I was genuinely invested in the movie, something I´ve never quite been with Tarantino. The extended scenes with all the characters talking had this underlying psychological tension between the characters, while still having the occasional uncomfortable laugh. The first half was definitely the part where maybe some things could have been cut down.

The big shoot-out near the end did go into the Kill Bill style over the top, gratuitously violent action in an intense shoot-out, but in the end it felt kind of fitting to a western film and didn’t feel as purposely over the top as the restaurant scene in Kill Bill. It was really nice to have a Tarantino film again that felt a bit more serious, but there a few moments in the shoot out, like when a person got shot and flew backwards, that did take me out of it. Then again this is Tarantino and I don’t really think he tries to be immersive.

Tarantino´s latest has some of the best writing and acting of the year, and potential to be his best if he cut out about ten minutes of unnecessary footage here and there. It does have flaws but it the end it is both exciting, controversial, funny, even a little touching and a hell of a fun ride.

4/5