THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Sometimes when Justice is not enough, revenge can be more successful. And in Django Unchained, revenge is at its most satisfying.
PLOT
The seventh film directed by writer Quentin Tarantino takes place in 1858 Texas and follows a slave named Django whose life changes for the better. He is bought by dentist turned bounty hunter Doctor King Schultz after violently killing one of his previous owners. He purchases him in particular because he is the last known person that can identify a trio bounty he’s after, the Brittle Brothers (Big John, Lil Raj and Ellis). Schultz makes a deal with Django to help him find them to collect in exchange for freedom. The latter agrees to do this as he hopes to find his wife Broomhilda Von Shaft after being sold separately. Due to his German background, Schultz is intrigued to know that the wife grew up in a German plantation before meeting her husband. Ironically, she shares the name of a Princess from a German story that is rescued by her lover Siegfried. When Schultz and Django search plantations in Tennessee, they find the one where the Brittle Brothers are hiding under the alias ‘Schaefer’. Django kills Big John (MC Gainey) and Lil Raj (Cooper Huckabee) before Schultz can kill Ellis (Doc Duhame). This brings discomfort towards plantation owner ‘Big Daddy’ Spencer Bennet who would intend to kill both bounty hunters at night with a posse. Knowing that would happen, Schultz would lure them to his wagon, destroying it from a distance by shooting at it with explosives inside. Once the posse retreats, Django is able to kill Big Daddy. After claiming this successful bounty, Schultz shares with Django the story of Broomhilda and due to feeing responsible for him, he offers to help him find his wife who was last sold at Mississippi. After collecting bounties throughout the winter, they begin the search. By the time they reach Mississippi, they discover that Broomhilda was last sold by Calvin J Candie who owns Candyland, one of the biggest plantations in Mississippi. Knowing that he will price her beyond their reach if they buy her upfront, they plan to offer $12,000 for the best Mandingo fighter as a pretext to buy Django’s wife with a nominal amount. They impress Candie with the offer so much that he invites them to Candyland before a final purchase. During the trip there, it is confirmed Broomhilda is there when Calvin mentions he has a female slave who speaks German and is nicknamed ‘Hildi’. They also encounter violent Slave trackers that work for Candie and prove their loyalty by letting their dogs kill an escapee Mandingo slave named “D’Artangan” (Ato Essandoh). By the time they finally reach Candyland, Django discovers that his wife is going through ongoing torture she went through when they met, but is also working as an escort. Her husband and Schultz intend to negotiate their initial deal during dinner. However, Calvin’s loyal head house slave Stephen catches on to his suspicion and deduces that Hildi knows Django. When he shares this revelation to his master, it only enrages him. It would lead to him holding the bounty hunters at gunpoint and selling Hildi for $12,000 instead of a fighter. Schultz does agree with the deal to avoid any bloodshed. That is until Calvin insists on a handshake to seal the deal. Tired of his arrogance, he kills him instead. Once this happens, he would also be killed by his bodyguard Butch Pooch. Django would then fight for his life by killing Pooch and multiple henchmen. He would surrender when Stephen threatens to have his wife killed. By morning, Calvin’s widowed sister Lara Lee (Laura Cayouette) would decide to have Django sent to a mining company and work to death. He would escape from this trip to hell and return to Candyland to rescue his wife. Along the way back, he kills Calvin’s slave trackers. After Calvin’s funeral, he kills Lara Lee and the remaining henchman, along with leaving Stephen for dead and kneecapping him before igniting the mansion of Candyland with dynamite. The film would end with the Freeman and his wife riding off happily ever after.
THOUGHTS
I remember getting into Tarantino's filmography in 2012, being nothing but fascinated on how he told stories. My interest in his style made it a no brainer for me to see this film as well. And as soon as I saw it early into 2013, I was blown away of what I had seen. I ended up loving it so much that this inspires me to be involved in this business. However I make a mark, I have this film to thank. Tarantino makes the grittiest of 21st century westerns by showing the world an era that lived up to the term. This period was far from a peaceful one and he lets loose on the grotesque violence to further prove so. You want to expect being uncomfortable when slaves go through abuse, but the rest of the violence is beyond shocking because you don't expect heads to explode and blood to splatter the way it does from a gunshot, yet it doesn't become a distraction. The action is at its most effective during the Candyland shootout which becomes bloody glorious to witness thanks to Fred Raskins' impressive editing. In between all the violence that ensues, Tarantino is boldly telling viewers the importance of standing up for yourself. You can be lucky and have compassionate people willing to do so for you, but that luck is far from being controlled. If you don't take advantage of your opportunities to do what you think is right, you'll never be your own person. I felt this as I followed the shoes of Django himself. This is arguably the best performance out of Jamie Foxx because he plays a protagonist whose moral compass is constantly tested after gaining free will. After all the pain he went through in his life, he has to radiate all the anger he can to avoid overreacting and his solution usually goes to talking back to those who dare taunt him. He becomes a hero in the world around him because he is only one who chooses to not let those who harm him live without consequence. The only thing that motivates him to keep fighting is not his rage, but his unconditional love for his wife. Kerry Washington showed Hildi as one who is more emotionally shackled than she is physically because every amount of physically endures makes her feel nothing but hopeless. When alone, she does not believe in hope but only gains that feeling when in the presence of her husband. She stood by him whenever she could because she was moved of how headstrong he would be. Although she was willing to die to let the suffering end, Django refused to give up and kept fighting when the chances got slim. Seeing him overcome such odds to reunite with the only woman he'll ever love, it was very satisfying and makes me happy knowing they'll do fine with their newfound freedom. Plus, it was really cool seeing Franco Nero cameo as the original Django, making it a clever torch passing moment when meeting Foxx's version. Of course, Django would've gotten his happy ending without the one guy that actually had some form of compassion unlike others. Earning his second Best Supporting Actor Oscar, Christoph Waltz has us fall in love with Dr. Schultz by making him the most legalistic of characters out there. He hates slavery, yet is willing to do the best he can in his surroundings. It makes sense for him to feel responsible for Django because he wants him to be strong enough to defend himself if he's going to live a free man and thankfully, he did a great job training him to be a skilled bounty hunter. I was disappointed in him killing Candie because he could've a lot of trouble for everyone. And at the same time, I don't blame him because he got tired of all the callousness he had seen his whole life, which only makes you miss him when he seals his fate. With that being said, most of the callousness came from the man who was so cruel. Leonardo DiCaprio masterfully owns it in embracing pure evil as Calvin Candie. Like a lot of people in this time period, this racist man relished on the pain he caused on others and didn't really care how anyone would feel about it. Due to how he was also ignorant, he felt entitled to do whatever he wanted and that is what made him scarier. In a way, he really doesn't have much to lose but he obviously doesn't like being tricked. Thus leading to DiCaprio going all out in flipping the switch to show Candie at his most unhinged. The entire scene where he confronts the protagonists of their lies is surreal acting from him and gives me chills every damn time, especially when noticing how he continues the scene after accidentally cutting his hand upon smashing a glass cup. Once he regains control, he just couldn't help himself when it came to further embracing his entitlement with the handshake to seal the deal with Hildi. Little would he expect his ego to finally cost him his life. Looking back, it does become hard to narrow down who put up with him better than everyone else, until it made sense that Stephen was the one. Samuel L Jackson was unrecognizable due to incredible makeup and because of that, he is able to become one who acts loyal to survive and expresses hatefulness to those who don't deserve it, which makes him pretty smart. The guy was even faking an injury to avoid further harm which proves exactly how deceptive he's been. His hatred towards Django comes from how he is simply jealous of having an opportunity he would never get in his lifetime and wanted him to suffer like he did. Once he found out his intentions, he took advantage of his knowledge to be more cunning than expected. I laugh when he cries for Calvin when re watching because you know he's faking his sympathy to remain favorable. So when he bites the dust as well, no remorse and no pity was given because not even he deserved it. Although Calvin and Stephen were the central villains, they weren't the only ones you would enjoy hating. While Walton Goggins showed Billy Crash as a resentful figure and James Remar showed Butch Pooch to be a cold one, Don Johnson got my attention as Big Daddy. In his minimum screen time, he oddly stood out for actually trying to have some form of charm behind the cruelty. In the world he lives in, it's pretty easy for him to embrace his true colors. When he lets his temper get the best of him, it's too damn funny to witness, especially when expressing it towards his masked posse. That entire scene where everyone complains about the quality of their masks is too damn hilarious for me when it probably shouldn't be. And seeing Jonah Hill as part of the bag heads only iced the cake for me. Tarantino makes one hell of a western here but even a writer as great as him had moments that I question every time re watch it. The biggest question has to be how Schultz found out about Django in the first place? I know this is what gets the story going, but if the original owner Old Man Caruccan (Bruce Dern) had died before he could ask him, that should’ve been specified. And if he was able to find Django without knowing wha the looked like, I wonder how well is he of a bounty hunter if he can’t identify his targets. I mean if Smitty Bacall had a picture on his, it’s surprising that the Brittle Brothers didn’t either. Speaking of which, I’m even glad that handbill really does become good luck for Django but how did he still have it? Billy Crash claimed that he found his wanted posters, so this is as ridiculous as not getting rid of Hildi’s freedom papers. Of all the continuity errors I couldn’t stand, it’s when Django drops a guy on his horse, the horse falls with him on one take and is instantly back up the next take. I really wish they had a take where the horse was still down to maintain continuity. I love the Candyland Massacre like a lot of fans do, but why was the last henchman to die turn on the side and aim at the front door? I mean that makes no damn sense at all because it’s not like Django made him do that. Ignore this and you’re in for one hell of a rodeo. In short, Django Unchained is my favorite film from 2012 for being the boldest of westerns in modern cinema, earning its Best Picture nominee in the process. If you are a fan of westerns, see this now.
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