In his new western, Django Unchained, he tackles a dark period in history, just as he did with Nazism in Inglourious Basterds. In this film, he goes into the brutality involved with slavery in America. It's another of his own thrillingly imaginative and brutal takes on a victimized group in history fighting back to be able to live a life without worry of persecution.
Two years before the Civil War, bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) frees a group of slaves that is being taken across the country by the Speck brothers. One of these slaves, Django (Jamie Foxx), is asked by Schultz to help him find the Brittle brothers, a group of pitiless killers, because he knows Django can identify them. Schultz agrees to free him in exchange of his help. Later on, Schultz trains Django to be a bounty hunter, and helps Schultz kill some of his targets. Afterwards, the two go on a journey disguised as purchasers of slave fighters to a plantation known as "Candyland" to save Django's wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), from its ruthless owner, Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).
Jamie Foxx closely resembles some of Tarantino's revenge-driven characters, such as The Bride in Kill Bill and Shosanna in Inglourious. All three of these characters are broken from their losses, but rise up and will do anything to right the wrongs that were done to them. Foxx presents the sad submissiveness of Django as we see him chained to the other slaves, his troubles and distress in his expression illuminated by the soft light of Schultz's lantern as the two meet for the first time, and his soft voice reflecting someone who has been broken down. When he's released, there's still that uncertainty that he carries for the world around him, taking notice of the harsh racism around him. But, he then makes the satisfying change from victim of prejudice to a combatant, unleashing a hidden fury in him. Django isn't afraid to assume his role as a purchaser of slave fighters, but Foxx brings out the conflicted feelings that his character feels for what he is doing, especially as he watches a fighter being savagely attacked by dogs and doesn't do anything about it, with the fear of giving away his cover. He doesn't show any disagreement with this happening, but he clearly feels it in secret. But when he fights back, he fights back hard, being stunningly relentless and unforgiving as he gets back at those who have taken over his life.
Christoph Waltz has the calm, cool and collected nature of a fearless cowboy as Schultz, a man of strict conviction. He could be facing extreme danger, but still keep his wits about him. He is a comical and skilled smooth talker, discussing his way reasonably in and out of situations, his knowledgeable and logical thinking being his main trait. As a bounty hunter, he's sneakily violent and, forgive the cliche, has a few tricks up his sleeve, literally at one point.
Leonardo DiCaprio is savage and vile as Calvin Candie. His character is very similar to that of Waltz's role as Colonel Hans Landa in Inglourious. He is persistent in his mission to demean and hurt his slaves, to bring them down to nothing but meat. What's horrifying about his character is that most of the violence he commits towards his slaves isn't done directly by him, but by having them fight each other for entertainment as he sits back with his malicious grin while sickly enjoying this blood sport.
There is a scene in the film where Schultz tells Django the origin of the name "Broomhilda." Schultz recognizes the name due to him being of German descent, and this particular name comes from a German folktale. He tells of a woman, Broomhilda, was the daughter of a god, and was sent to a mountaintop guarded by fire and a dragon as a punishment for disobeying her father. When we first see Calvin, he is having a smoke in a room with lights hanging around the wall. He is the dragon guarding what he believes is his. The set design for this meeting with Calvin cleverly parallels that German tale.
Samuel L. Jackson is the film's other main villain, Stephen, who is Candie's head slave, a tall and daunting individual with a merciless look in his eyes. What's deplorable about his character is that he's an African American who has turned against his own race and dutifully serves his owner without any trouble. He will have you shaking your head in disappointment at what he has become. It's like he has been brainwashed by his master, trained to hate what Candie hates as well. This relates to one character saying how the one thing worse than whites owning blacks is blacks owning blacks. While Jackson's character doesn't own any slaves himself, this has some connections to the aforementioned notion of blacks going against blacks.
Tarantino's screenplay begins similar to how many of his other films begin, with some memorable exchange of dialogue followed by an act of violence. This sets the tone for a Tarantino film, to let the audience know they will be getting a fun and heavy mix of sharp conversations and Tarantino-like roughness. As the script concentrates considerably on the interactions between Django and Schultz, this allows us to see their relationship go from the student learning from the master to the student becoming the master, in full detail. In terms of the film capturing a part of our history that deals with injustices committed against a certain group of people, Django Unchained can be considered a companion piece to Inglourious Basterds because that film also deals with violence against a repressed group and has a cold, vicious antagonist. However, those comparisons become obvious to the point of being somewhat distracting in some areas of the film.
As Tarantino does in all of his films, he brings a love for violent set-pieces. He prefers the over-the-top, shock-value style that he's famous for. But, seeing as how he has equally good talent for delivering terrific dialogue, I say he gets a free pass for his bloody sequences, seeing as he doesn't just rely on that. With each film, he takes a certain genre and puts his own original touch to it. For Django Unchained, he uses the western genre to create a gritty revenge tale of slaves fighting back. It's American history in the eyes of a daring filmmaker.
Final grade: A-
There is a scene in the film where Schultz tells Django the origin of the name "Broomhilda." Schultz recognizes the name due to him being of German descent, and this particular name comes from a German folktale. He tells of a woman, Broomhilda, was the daughter of a god, and was sent to a mountaintop guarded by fire and a dragon as a punishment for disobeying her father. When we first see Calvin, he is having a smoke in a room with lights hanging around the wall. He is the dragon guarding what he believes is his. The set design for this meeting with Calvin cleverly parallels that German tale.
Samuel L. Jackson is the film's other main villain, Stephen, who is Candie's head slave, a tall and daunting individual with a merciless look in his eyes. What's deplorable about his character is that he's an African American who has turned against his own race and dutifully serves his owner without any trouble. He will have you shaking your head in disappointment at what he has become. It's like he has been brainwashed by his master, trained to hate what Candie hates as well. This relates to one character saying how the one thing worse than whites owning blacks is blacks owning blacks. While Jackson's character doesn't own any slaves himself, this has some connections to the aforementioned notion of blacks going against blacks.
Tarantino's screenplay begins similar to how many of his other films begin, with some memorable exchange of dialogue followed by an act of violence. This sets the tone for a Tarantino film, to let the audience know they will be getting a fun and heavy mix of sharp conversations and Tarantino-like roughness. As the script concentrates considerably on the interactions between Django and Schultz, this allows us to see their relationship go from the student learning from the master to the student becoming the master, in full detail. In terms of the film capturing a part of our history that deals with injustices committed against a certain group of people, Django Unchained can be considered a companion piece to Inglourious Basterds because that film also deals with violence against a repressed group and has a cold, vicious antagonist. However, those comparisons become obvious to the point of being somewhat distracting in some areas of the film.
As Tarantino does in all of his films, he brings a love for violent set-pieces. He prefers the over-the-top, shock-value style that he's famous for. But, seeing as how he has equally good talent for delivering terrific dialogue, I say he gets a free pass for his bloody sequences, seeing as he doesn't just rely on that. With each film, he takes a certain genre and puts his own original touch to it. For Django Unchained, he uses the western genre to create a gritty revenge tale of slaves fighting back. It's American history in the eyes of a daring filmmaker.
Final grade: A-
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