Today’s quick review: Django Unchained. Django (Jamie Foxx) is a black slave in the 1850s South whose life takes a dramatic turn when he is freed by Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), a bounty hunter who takes him on as an apprentice. Together they set out to reclaim Django’s wife (Kerry Washington) from a capricious slave owner (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his traitorous slave (Samuel L. Jackson). But their mission will take all of Django’s self-control if it is to succeed, and failure is sure to result in violence.
Django Unchained is a revenge film from director Quentin Tarantino that meanders between genres. While technically a drama, Django Unchained borrows Western elements and sprinkles in scenes of violent action at irregular intervals throughout the movie. Tarantino’s odd sensibilities give the film a slightly surreal quality as well, not enough to push it into the realm of comedy, but enough to temper the drama and give the film a deliberately cinematic film.
Django Unchained suffers from issues of pacing and tone. The plot’s trajectory is never all that clear, and the film spends enough time on setup that several of its key developments are not introduced until later on. Where Kill Bill and Inglorious Basterds were pure fantasy, Django Unchained mixes in grim elements of reality: slavery, rape, and torture. The injection of real drama and suffering into what would otherwise be a violent romp tarnishes the film’s escapist qualities.
Watch Django Unchained if you are a Quentin Tarantino fan or if you are in the mood for a violent revenge fantasy that touches several different bases. For production quality, Django Unchained is as strong as any of Tarantino’s other films, and what it lacks in focus, it makes up for with a potent mix of elements. Your enjoyment of the film will depend on how much you like its dramatic elements; the style and action are pure Tarantino. Skip it if you are at all sensitive to gore or prefer lighter action films.
8.5 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.5 for violence, style, and a perversely fascinating plot held back by pacing and a peculiar mix of realism and fantasy.