The quote I chose for the title of this week's review is nonchalantly uttered about 3/4 of the way through the film by Jamie Foxx as he shoots a particularly nasty plantation worker repeatedly amid various shrieks and moans. It's just one of the many hilarious things about Quentin Tarantino's (PULP FICTION, RESERVOIR DOGS, like you weren't aware) newest film, DJANGO UNCHAINED. It also has the distinction of being one of the only subtle things about this blaxploitation spaghetti western.
Set two years before the Civil War in various southern states (primarily Texas and Mississippi), DJANGO UNCHAINED tells the story of a slave (Foxx) who is recruited by a German dentist turned bounty hunter, Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz of INGLORIOUS BASTERDS fame), to help identify three of the good doctor's targets. After seeing that this slave actually might have some talent for this stuff, "The kid's a natural," Dr. Schultz agrees to help Django rescue his wife, Broomhilda, from a dastardly plantation known as Candyland in exchange for Django's services through the winter.
Like I said earlier, nothing about this film is subtle -- and it's wonderful. While the film is called DJANGO UNCHAINED, the titular character could easily replaced with "Tarantino." Sure, the director of PULP FICTION and KILL BILL has never really been one for downplaying things, but with this film no stone is left unturned (or shot, or exploded, or ripped apart and eaten by dogs). This is Tarantino unleashed (much like those dogs from earlier) and the film is savagely violent, insanely extravagant, and most of all exorbitantly entertaining.
Many critics and casual movie-goers alike have criticized the film for its extreme violence and pervasive use of a certain racial epithet beginning with the letter "n." Takes like this, much like that of long-time Tarantino hater, Spike Lee, make me wonder if these people have actually seen the film (Spike Lee has admittedly not). Are they wrong? Of course not, DJANGO has all of these things in spades. But does this do anything but add to the atmosphere and overall message? Absolutely not. Apart from providing historical accuracy (yes, slave owners were horrible people and they used that word... a lot), the sheer absurdity that the film portrays in its violence is a remarkably poignant and effecting commentary on the outright lunacy of racism and the stomach-churning horrors of slavery.
What's more amazing is the fact that Tarantino manages to do all of this while creating one of the most uproariously funny films of the year. With every actor on top of their games (Foxx, DiCaprio and Waltz obviously deserving particular acknowledgment), including quick and rib-splitting turns by Jonah Hill (SUPERBAD, 21 JUMP STREET) and Don Johnson (MIAMI VICE) as dim-witted KKK members, Tarantino's script pops and sizzles with with the wit and obscure pop-culture references that have made him one of the best living directors. His soundtrack, which combines songs from classic Italian spaghetti westerns and modern day rap music, is just another example of how this movie sounds ridiculous written out but works beautifully. Even when he's telling a story about the sickening brutality of slavery, Tarantino can't help but entertain. Never once did I think a movie about a slave and a German bounty hunter killing dozens of people to collect bounties and then rising up against an insanely cruel plantation owner to rescue the slave's abused wife would be the funniest film of the year, but it is -- by far.
Granted the film is not perfect. Kerry Washington as Django's wife, Broomhilda, does little besides stand around in random fields during Django's hallucinations and get abused physically and emotionally. I get that women had little to no power during this time and women that also happened to be black and enslaved had even less, but it's Kerry Washington! Give her SOMETHING! In addition, the Norse mythological elements also feel just sort of shoved in to a picture that doesn't really need them. Why does Broomhilda speak German? Well, if she didn't then Tarantino's attempt to add a Siegfried and Brunhilde narrative into his story would be impossible and then how could he show the ironic parallel between Candyland and Valhalla? It doesn't serve any real purpose other than that endgame parallel and does nothing but take away from the already amazing Candyland portion of the film, including DiCaprio's menacing and deliciously evil Calvin J. Candie and the true runner of the house, Stephen, a faithful and shrewd house slave played by Samuel L. Jackson, who clearly relished the role and couldn't have played the character more perfectly. The film also has not one, but two over-the-top end sequences where all hell breaks loose. Both are works of bloody and explosive brilliance, but during the gap between the two, the film lags a bit. It's a long movie (near 3 hours), and while the film's length is not a downside like the recently released AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY and while I was more than willing to stay in this world as long as possible, the film does lose energy on its way to the final showdown.
DJANGO UNCHAINED, however, is a seriously insane comedy that is also an insanely serious disquisition on enslavement and how it has been portrayed by Hollywood over the past decades. With its superb cast, brilliant script, eclectic soundtrack, countless references, and beautiful cinematography by Tarantino regular, Robert Richardson, DJANGO UNCHAINED is a film that challenges audiences and is as hilarious as it is entertaining. It's also one of the best films of the year. If DJANGO UNCHAINED had your curiosity, it should now have your attention.
9 out of 10
