Quentin Tarantino. A name that has become synonymous with a certain type of film. Let me state openly here and now I do not worship Tarantino and everything he does; I can see why many around the world do, and I respect the iconic figure within the film industry he has now become. Yet I try to judge each of his films that I see, as I would any other film, on its own merits. I am pleased to say that in the case of Django Unchained, Tarantino has not disappointed. Yes there are the usual amounts of gore (including some genuinely chilling moments that one probably would not find in the grossest horror) and the openly up-front handling of sensitive, perhaps even controversial issues, and an intriuging cameo from the director himself. Nevertheless I feel this story brims with visceral and powerfully emotive moments. Not only that but Django Unchained also features compelling historical and social backdrop, a beautifully suited soundtrack and a surprising amount of laugh-out-loud moments.
Jamie Foxx is suited to the role of Django right from the
off. In a film that wastes no time in introducing its main character, so Foxx
wastes no time in giving us a freed slave who, though thrown into a world he
does not always understand, adapts endearingly and who audiences immediately
root for from start to finish. On the other end of the scale we have Leonardo
DiCaprio, who gives us a rare, but sublimely played turn as the villain of the
piece, achieving that rare thing of a character that we recognise as evil, but
who also has an incredibly watchable quality.
Two people who I feel might be slightly unsung heroes of the
piece are Samuel L. Jackson and Kerry Washington. We know Samuel L. Jackson is
a seasoned actor with a wealth of great performances under his belt. We also
know he has a habit of collaborating with Tarantino (perhaps most famously
appearing in Pulp Fiction). Therefore
audiences could be forgiven for perhaps taking him slightly for granted. Yet I
feel this would be folly as Jackson delivers a performance that is full of the
charisma unique only to him, whilst being directed into quite a villainous
role, as well as providing some much needed humour. Kerry Washington plays very
much the damsel in distress in Django
Unchained, yet she does so with fragile and beautiful individuality. Again
you would be forgiven for not recognising her performance straight away when it
is surrounded by so many wonderful characters, yet for me she is a joy to
watch.
However for me, and many others, the stand out star by a mile
is the wonderful Christoph Waltz, who plays Dr. King Schultz, Django’s
liberator, friend, mentor and fellow bounty hunter. It does not surprise me
that Waltz has received oodles of recognition and accolades (including an
Academy Award) for his performance. He is just the right mixture of loveable
rouge, comic funny man, suave gentleman, formidable killer and gentle heart. He
steals almost every scene he is in, as well as emphasising the worth and talent
of whomever he is opposite. Django
Unchained provides many characters one can invest in but Waltz provides
Schultz as the easiest and most loveable.
So yes I understand that a Tarantino film might not be for
everyone. Yet this one, his most recent and, despite being released for a
fairly short amount of time, already his most successful, certainly did not put
me off. For me this is Tarantino’s best work by far; giving audiences a brutal,
powerful yet wonderful story, told by incredibly talented people.
