So, it probably wouldn't surprise you if we said that Quentin tarantino is something of a pyromaniac -in fact its a spoiler alert (hint: its similar to what he did to the Nazis in "Inglorious Basterds") . But for some 2 1/2 hours before that Django Unchained signals a return to form for Tarantino, at least a return to the form of Kil Bill and "Basterds" as opposed to say, Man with The Iron Fists.
Jamie Foxx is
Django, a black slave in the Deep South two years before the Civil War (according to the film; our informations says the conflict began in 1861, whiuloe the film's opening scene says 1858, but we wont nitpick) and Waltz taking on the role of Dr King (get it?) Schultz, the sharp-shooting ‘dentist’ who so unexpectedly frees him from his chains and offers him a deal.
If Django will help him track down the Brittle brothers, notoriously brutal plantation overseers and now wanted men, he will give him his freedom. As these are the same Brittle brothers who branded and humiliated Django and whipped and then sold his beautiful slave wife, he doesn’t take long to say ‘yes’.
Act Two begins with Schultz and Django setting off to find Django’s wife, the gloriously named Broomhilda von Shaft (Kerry Washington).
This change of gear proved close to disastrous in Inglourious Basterds but works a lot better here, thanks to DiCaprio’s captivating turn as the charismatic plantation-owner Calvin Candie, who likes to be called Big Daddy by his slaves but Monsieur Candie by his white peers.
A lot of speechifying by fine southern gentlemen and the growing suspicion that the actors might be having more fun than we are will be a test for some, but the verbal pyrotechnics are a Tarantino trademark, DiCaprio has never been better and, best of all, there is, of course, some serious shooting to come.
This is a film about revenge, and when the bad guys get what’s coming, as they do ever more frequently, they certainly deserve it.
Tarantino’s screenplay, which has already secured him an Oscar nomination and won him a Golden Globe, is as terrific as his direction in the first half, filled with all the clever dialogue one would expect such an unusual situation (an ex-slave as a bounty hunter) to conjure up.
A scene in which a Ku Klux Klan lynch-mob have to rethink their murderous plans because they can’t see out of the eye-holes cut in their hoods is straight out of Blazin Saddles in ternms of the madcap ultimately deprecating humour. Samuel L Jackson, virtually on contract to Tarantino since Pulp Fiction, is also a standout as the house "nigga" all teeth bared and slyly malevolent smiles.
Of course, some will be u[ in arms over the use of thr so-called "n-word" but its obvious that's what Balcks were universally referred to in that period so this writer, admittedly geographically removed from that complex, doesn't see the fuss.
What I do see is a very enjoyable revenge fantasy (the type Tarantino seems to do best). Violent, yes, almost vulgar in that regard, but also quirky smart and hip - he's even got Franco Nero in there. Look that one up.
