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YouSeenThat.com -> RE: Djumb as dogshite (22/2/2013 2:18:30 AM)
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“The D is silent, Nigerian.”
If you haven’t managed to pick up what Quentin Tarantino has been putting down for the past couple of decades, then you never will. The sad fact is that you probably aren’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Chances are you’re the sort of turkey that enjoys endless marathons of the television series Friends, the androgynous musical stylings of Justin Beiber, and taking those queer duck-lipped self shots for your collection of pretend friends on BookFace. When it comes to Tarantino we’re not saying that you have to love the cat; we’re just saying that the movie-making M.O. of our old mate with the jaw the size of Texas ain’t particularly hard to pin down. A QT movie has to have at least five key ingredients: it’s got to be hip, it’s got to be long, it’s got to be full of jive-talkin’ mofos, it’s got to be full of quiet moments punctuated by sharp and intense violence, and last but not least, it’s got to have an eclectic soundtrack. In short, a Quentin Tarantino movie is the perfect metaphor to describe a healthy sex life… but the question is, did his latest attempt Django Unchained awaken the loins of cinefiles everywhere?
Django Unchained is the story of a freed slave Django (Jamie Foxx) who with the help of a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) sets out of rescue his wife from the brutal clutches of Mississippi plantation owner, Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).
At its heart, Django Unchained is a simple revenge tale. But don’t let that statement put you off, there is absolutely nothing wrong with simple; history has proven time and again that the best works of fiction are little more than simple tales executed with panache and enthusiasm. And when it comes to the execution stakes, a director like Quentin Tarantino has a track record of bringing the thunder. If you take the movie at face value, Django Unchained is obviously Tarantino’s attempt at paying homage to the bygone era of low-budget Italian Spaghetti Westerns of the 60’s and 70’s, akin to what he set out to do with Inglorious Basterds, his earlier nod to the stuffy World War II sub-genre. Inspired heavily by a little-known 1966 Spaghetti Western called Django, where the “D” is also silent, there are no fancy plot devices or multi-threaded stories to be found in this Jamie Foxx vehicle – if you’re expecting that sort of malarkey from a Western, you undoubtedly expect far too much of the genre. Like we hinted at with the comment about panache and enthusiasm, a movie is the sum of all its parts, and as far as a revenge tale goes, the simple concept of a freed slave killing his way across the abhorrent backdrop of redneck 1800’s America to free his love is as good a hook as any. Sure, we’ve seen the old trope of the family man out for revenge, but at least Django Unchained tries to put a different spin on a familiar setup.
Regardless of how good or bad Django Unchained’s hook may be, it’s Tarantino’s trademark attention to detail, snappy dialogue and quirky characters that is inevitably going to make or break a movie like this. And for the most part, Tarantino ticks all the right boxes.
Django Unchained’s cast of characters, while prone to the usual Tarantino quirkiness, all add to the rich tapestry of this revenge tale. While you’ve got the typical cast of rednecks and Western fodder, part and parcel of the genre, it’s the relationship between our leads that makes Django Unchained worth the effort. As our well-spoken German bounty hunting dentist and freed slave make their way through the United States killing white men like a boss, the central relationship between Schultz (Waltz) and Django (Foxx) starts out as an uneasy one as our titular character feels out the intentions of his Germanic savior. As the story progresses this uneasy truce blossoms into mutual respect, and maybe even genuine friendship; it is this relationship that provides the solid cornerstone for the movie. Oh, and then there is Candie, the menacing nutbag plantation owner played by DiCaprio. What a revelation. If you love an absolute bastard of a bad guy, the sort of son-of-a-bitch that you almost want to root for, Candie is definitely the guy for you.
All of Tarantino’s characters are brought to life by some great performances. Waltz and Foxx have an great on screen chemistry, albeit Waltz almost seems to be playing the same character as he did in Inglorious Bastards, just with a slightly different hat. Of course that’s not to take away from Waltz as an actor, he certainly does a great job with the character of Schultz. Supporting characters like Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), the resident Uncle Tom, are utterly sublime. But as we keep saying, DiCaprio’s bad guy Candie absolutely steals the show. We were never huge fans of the young DiCaprio, we always thought of him as too much of a pretty boy, however he has certainly grown in leaps and bounds. His performance as the despicable Candie is without doubt one of his most outstanding performances to date. From his very first scene, complete with Mandingo fighting and the cocky head tilt with classic close up on the eyes, we knew that we were going to be in for a dastardly treat.
All the prerequisites for a great Tarantino movie are present: the eclectic soundtrack, the typical Tarantino ‘trunk shot’ – albeit not from the trunk of a car, the classic conversations, the humour. QT is in his element orchestrating a project like this – writing, directing and overseeing every excruciating detail. There’s a great scene involving a KKK style posse and their ill-fitting hoods that felt like it could have been lifted straight from the classic Mel Brooks comedy Blazing Saddles. And a few of the action scenes toward the end of the movie were so bloody and ridiculously satisfying that they bordered on some of the most memorable shootouts on the big screen since Way of the Gun.
It’s safe to say that we had a blast watching Django Unchained.
Our only real complaints about Django Unchained would have to be with regard to the slightly excessive running time and the overabundant use of the N-word. With a running time of two hours and forty-five minutes, we felt that Tarantino could have definitely trimmed a little fat. Just when you thought the movie was over, suddenly we were hit with a seemingly out of place scene containing a few cameos. We won’t give away who or what is involved, but you’ll know what we’re talking about when you see it. While cameos are a bit of fun, these seemingly pointless scenes, combined with some of the unnecessarily verbose conversations, all could have been tightened somewhat. Maybe Tarantino should have thought about culling some of the hundred-odd uses of the N-word. We have no doubt that scholars have written many a thesis on the word and how its use diminishes the stigma attached to the its meaning, or whatever bullcrap these poindexters get paid to write, but we kind of got hit with it so often that it pretty much lost any and all meaning. It almost became comical. Whether or not that was Tarantino’s intention, in some scenes it felt like ever second word was in reference to someone being a Nigerian. In our opinion that was pure overkill.
Overall, Django Unchained is classic Tarantino. While we wouldn’t fall over ourselves to suck the guys rod if we ever met him, this movie has all of the hallmarks of being one of his best. If you hate Tarantino and/or Westerns with a passion, then it’s safe to say that Django Unchained won’t be for you. If you love the big-chinned master of homage and a well-dressed cowboy, well then, that’s a completely different story.
4/5
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