Movie Review: Django Unchained (2012)

Django Unchained is brutal, sickly comical, and often hard to watch. That being said, it’s also a smart film about racism and slavery, masterfully crafted by talented filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. A late arrival during 2012, Django Unchained should be in the conversation for best picture of the year, if critics can get past the excessive gore and racist language. Tarantino crosses the boundaries of what is comfortable in order to shock, amuse, and drive home a powerful message into your brain – and he succeeds completely on all counts.

This satirical revival of the Blaxploitation genre tells the story of a bounty-hunting dentist who frees a slave named Django (Jamie Foxx) in order to help him track down his latest reward. Feeling responsible for the man he freed, Dr. King Schultz (Christopher Waltz) teaches Django how to shoot, read, and even promises to help him free the woman he loves from a rich slaver, Calvin J. Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).

The romance between Django and his bride, Broomhilda Von Shaft (Kerry Washington), is one of the weaker aspects of the narrative. However, the relationship between Django and Dr. Schultz is surprisingly deep for a Tarantino movie; their mutual growth serves to push the plot forward.

The story unfolds in a series of episodic acts, each feeling like its own stand-alone arc. This approach is something fans of Tarantino are likely accustomed to, though I will add that it works better here than in Inglourious Basterds.