Cast: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington and Samuel L. Jackson
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino had our curiosity, now he has our attention.
Django Unchained is the most vicious film Quentin Tarantino has ever made. You may have seen ears being cut, heads being sliced and skulls being smashed, in his earlier films. But nothing beats the visceral kick that Django carries with aplomb. It’s a thrilling ride, which might often get ugly and difficult to watch. But it still remains Tarantino’s most wildly creative, funny and frightening film till date.
Borrowing the name from a classic spaghetti western, Django Unchained centers around the title character, a recently freed slave by the name of Django (Jamie Foxx). He is “bought” by bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christopher Waltz) who is determined to nail down his next target. Django agrees to be Schultz’s sidekick, but wants only one thing – to retrieve his wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) from the grasp of greedy plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo Dicaprio). What follows is an over the top, violence filled spectacle where race is baited and blood is spilled – both in more than sufficient amounts.
International critics have expressed their concern about the frequent use of the n-word in the film. It was also reported that director Spike Lee refused to watch this film. He called it, “disrespectful to my ancestors”. They are all missing the point. Tarantino in his own twisted way has merely projected the life and times of blaxplotation and slavery sleaze. It might seem over the top because Tarantino doesn’t underplay. He’d rather go full throttle than holding back at any given point. He doesn’t shy away from coming in close to show you the details.
There are stunning blood-spattered showdowns and equal amounts of silences which test your patience and then rewards you accordingly. Like the horrifying scene in which two slaves are forced to fight each other to death using only their hands. It’s the most unsettling scene in the film, which absurdly depicts the power that Tarantino has over film grammar. Or even the long sequences of dialogue in the dinner scene at the Candie mansion. It packs so much tension and suspense, reminding you of the famous bar-shootout scene in Inglourious Basterds. There is also a sequence full of slapstick jokes that might just surprise you with it's timing but amuse you nevertheless.
Tarantino’s first attempt at making a spaghetti western has paid off. As promised, he’s given, in his own words, “… black American males a western hero, a cool folkloric hero that could be empowering and who could actually pay back blood for blood.” Jamie Foxx as Django makes for a great “black man who gets paid to kill the white people”. He fits in well and conveniently switches from being intense to playful in the same breath.
Christoph Waltz, as sublime as he was in Inglorious Basterds, but a better person here, delivers a stupendous performance. He’s got most of the lines in the film. It’s quite astounding to witness him bringing his acting chops to such a meaty, maniacal role. He leaves you breathless with the depth of his desire to sell Tarantino’s convoluted dialogue.
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino had our curiosity, now he has our attention.
Django Unchained is the most vicious film Quentin Tarantino has ever made. You may have seen ears being cut, heads being sliced and skulls being smashed, in his earlier films. But nothing beats the visceral kick that Django carries with aplomb. It’s a thrilling ride, which might often get ugly and difficult to watch. But it still remains Tarantino’s most wildly creative, funny and frightening film till date.
Borrowing the name from a classic spaghetti western, Django Unchained centers around the title character, a recently freed slave by the name of Django (Jamie Foxx). He is “bought” by bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christopher Waltz) who is determined to nail down his next target. Django agrees to be Schultz’s sidekick, but wants only one thing – to retrieve his wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) from the grasp of greedy plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo Dicaprio). What follows is an over the top, violence filled spectacle where race is baited and blood is spilled – both in more than sufficient amounts.
International critics have expressed their concern about the frequent use of the n-word in the film. It was also reported that director Spike Lee refused to watch this film. He called it, “disrespectful to my ancestors”. They are all missing the point. Tarantino in his own twisted way has merely projected the life and times of blaxplotation and slavery sleaze. It might seem over the top because Tarantino doesn’t underplay. He’d rather go full throttle than holding back at any given point. He doesn’t shy away from coming in close to show you the details.
There are stunning blood-spattered showdowns and equal amounts of silences which test your patience and then rewards you accordingly. Like the horrifying scene in which two slaves are forced to fight each other to death using only their hands. It’s the most unsettling scene in the film, which absurdly depicts the power that Tarantino has over film grammar. Or even the long sequences of dialogue in the dinner scene at the Candie mansion. It packs so much tension and suspense, reminding you of the famous bar-shootout scene in Inglourious Basterds. There is also a sequence full of slapstick jokes that might just surprise you with it's timing but amuse you nevertheless.
Tarantino’s first attempt at making a spaghetti western has paid off. As promised, he’s given, in his own words, “… black American males a western hero, a cool folkloric hero that could be empowering and who could actually pay back blood for blood.” Jamie Foxx as Django makes for a great “black man who gets paid to kill the white people”. He fits in well and conveniently switches from being intense to playful in the same breath.
Christoph Waltz, as sublime as he was in Inglorious Basterds, but a better person here, delivers a stupendous performance. He’s got most of the lines in the film. It’s quite astounding to witness him bringing his acting chops to such a meaty, maniacal role. He leaves you breathless with the depth of his desire to sell Tarantino’s convoluted dialogue.
The same goes for Leonardo Dicaprio, a fine director’s actor. One, who shines and exuberates brilliance in the hands of Scorcese, has surely lived up to the Tarantino world too as the sadistic, plantation-owning Southern gentleman.
Django Unchained has emerged from the shadows of the old spaghetti westerns and has taken a new form of it’s own. I suspect if we'd ever be able to watch a John Wayne or Clint Eastwood western in the same way, again.
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire