Django Unchained

There is a point early on in "Django Unchained" when the German dentist turned bounty hunter known as Dr. King Schultz, played by Christoph Waltz introduces himself and his horse to a group of slave traders, both he and his horse bow their heads as only proper gentlemen would, its a pure Tarantino moment and it sold me completely on this Spaghetti Western meet Blaxploitation epic.

Quentin Tarantino is a master filmmaker, as a true artists he makes films which interest him and doesn't really have a regard for what others think. This has caused a split between most filmgoers, you either despise this trait or you go along for the ride, either way it cannot be debated that he is one of the most original voices in Hollywood today and "Django Unchained" does nothing to deter this fact. The film tells the story of a slave named Django played by Jamie Foxx (in a role that Will Smith now surely wishes he didn't turn down) who is freed by Dr. Schultz and in turn for his freedom joins the Dr.  in the bounty hunting business. The movie is filled with Tarantino mainstays such as juicy scenes of dialogue to gratuitous violence all along the way while Django is in search of his long lost wife, Broomhilda Von Shaft played by Kerry Washington. joining in on this fun ride is Leonardo DiCaprio as the villainous plantation owner Calvin Candie and Samuel L. Jackson as Candie's loyal house slave known as Stephen-these two seem destined to duke it out for a best supporting actor statue come Oscar night.

The mix of genres is a skill that Tarantino has mastered and with it comes a slew of controversy in this film which I feel is mostly without warrant. In particular the use of the N-word which is used approximately over 100 times during the almost 3 hour running time. The time period is two years before the Civil War, a very dark time in America's history to not use this word would be like turning a blind eye to historical accuracy and to this point I did not feel it was used blatantly to stir up controversy. The violence, as is the case with other Tarantino movies such as "Inglorious Basterds" or the Kill Bill movies is graphic and cartoonish in some parts but this isn't a movie for kids, only towards the overlong conclusion of the film did I think it was overdone.

The cast is most exceptional, Foxx as the lead doesn't have a whole lot of dialogue but his character doesn't need to say much but when he does you listen. The scene chewing players in this are DiCaprio, in probably his best performance since "The Aviator", Christoph Waltz, who seems was placed on this earth to act of Tarantino's scripts and Samuel L. Jackson, whose role here is a true Benedict Arnold in film lore that should be discussed and dissected for years to come. Going back to DiCaprio, when his character is first introduced I wasn't impressed, whether it was how he decided to interpret the script or he just felt out of place but as soon as the group arrive to the plantation known as "Candie Land" DiCaprio turns what could have been an overacted piece of southern trash into a pure being of evil and menace. Other highlights are Don Johnson as another plantation owner known as "Big Daddy" and a scene involving the early beginnings of the KKK played out almost like an Abbott and Costello routine, its so ridiculous and wrong that it might be the funniest scene in film this year.

Music is another aspect that Tarantino has control over in all his films, again he mixes genres, such as in "Basterds" when he used a David Bowie song in a movie set in World War II France, here he uses everything from rap to a Jim Croce song, it shouldn't work but it does. What doesn't work in the film is the last 30 minutes, it almost seems like the filmmaker had too many ideas and he tries to fit everything in and with that makes the final act feel both rushed and deliriously long.

"Django" is one of the best films of the year in my mind, The screenplay-should be another Oscar lock along with Supporting actor, they should really just change the name from "Best Original Screenplay" to the "Tarantino". Films from the recent past such as "Precious" and "The Help" in my eyes do worse to exploit African American stereotypes than anything does in Django Unchained. If this would be your first time experiencing a Tarantino film I'd say start with his third feature, "Jackie Brown" his most accessible and most underrated film. Django isn't for everyone but I can promise you that you will at least have something to talk about when the credits roll.