Django Unchained Review

The undeniable genius of Quentin Tarantino is that it is impossible to predict anything about his films or filmmaking. Not only are all of his works imbued with trademark wit, solid scripting, a tremendous ear for dialogue, top rate performances, and an amoral approach to violence, but Tarantino always finds a way to redefine the genre and style of film he is making.Inglorious Basterds showcased historical revision from the auteur and a comic touch to the often somber war genre. His early works such as Pulp Fiction  brought a new attitude to the gangster genre. With Django, Tarantino strives for a similar aesthetic with American slavery and the Western, but his overindulgent use of violence in latter sections of the film and some shoddy scripting ultimately creates a sloppy and predictable film.

In Django, Tarantino takes the Spaghetti Western to his own revision of the antebellum Southern United States where bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) rescues a slave named Django to help him seek out a trio of brothers that he must kill. Django aids him in exchange for his freedom and Schultz eventually agrees to help the former slave rescue his beloved Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) from Candie Land where she is the slave of Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). Tarantino does not shy away from the fact that his main aim is to portray the evils of the slavery era as ferociously as he can. In order to do so, he villifies every white person in the film (except Schultz) as much as he can in order to create a stronger bond with the character's central figure of Django. While subtlety has never been (and probably never will be ) a Tarantino trademark, it is extremely clear from the getgo that he is trying to guilt the viewer into this point of view and while we follow along with Django's quest, there is never a true affinity for him because of said manipulation. continue reading