Django Unchained

Every few years, Quentin Tarantino blesses the film community with a contribution that only he can provide. He has carved a niche so deep that there is no other filmmaker capable of filling it. He has created films so wildly inappropriate, yet undeniably captivating that we have as a collective audience created a different standard for him.

2009 was the year that we saw Tarantino's post-Pulp Fiction brilliance. Not just classic B-film homages with witty dialogue and curious characters, but a substantial film titled Inglorious Basterds. It introduced us to a new breed of Tarantino, and one that I was anxiously hoping to see again with Django Unchained.

Many of the staples of his films remain, but the flair and ingenuity seem to be missing. There is a lull in his delivery, and it's not a knock on his writing ability or creative genius, but on his satisfaction with the end product. The unpredictability has become predictable, and for a trailblazer in his craft, he's becoming a bit boring.

Violence has always been one of his most consistent tricks, and he doesn't disappoint with Django. Never shy about taking on a taboo subject, Tarantino tackles slavery in the long lost "Blacksploitation" genre. Needing to move on to something more shocking and controversial than Nazi killers, Tarantino matches a slave with a German bounty hunter in 1858 on a quest to find his slave wife.

Never has the N-Word been more pervasive, but also dare I say, never more appropriate. It fits with the time, which ups the discomfort level a notch. Couple this with the gratuitous violence, and you have the next generation of Tarantino; Ultimate awkward. I found myself laughing throughout the film, and most of the time it was due to the dialogue or the odd actions of characters, but in retrospect, a lot of it is due to simple awkwardness.

Django follows a young, naturally-talented gunfighter as he is bought and freed by a man seeking only a shred of help in finding a bounty. They form a friendship of sorts and make their way through the South until they find Django's long lost love. A simple story, but it is masterfully packed with nutty characters and oddly normal conversation (Quentin's specialty).

Let's start with Django. Played by Jamie Foxx, he's a strong, silent man and up until he starts to display his firearm skills, he's just a running joke of a black man on a horse. Not a lot of depth or acting involved in my opinion. It takes a lot of courage to take on a project of this type, but let's be honest; Anything goes with Tarantino. The supporting cast is another story entirely.

Christoph Waltz is riding his Best Supporting Actor Oscar wave and is re-teamed with Tarantino in an eerily similar role. At first I was dubious of his casting, but he earned his stripes with his terrible English and quirky motivation. The German slid into place after the first act, and fit with the story nicely. He is deserving of his Supporting Actor Golden Globe nomination, but I'm not sold on a top 5 overall performance. Don't expect an Oscar nod.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays the evil slave owner with southern charm and steely eyes. He is the most out of typical character, and that is perhaps the greatest appeal to his Calvin Candie. He is despicable and tosses around racial epithets like they are his namesake. He seems to make a habit of dying at the end of his best (and worst) performances, and this one is no different. Come on, you can't possibly call this a spoiler. Django Unchained is a gritty revenge flick at heart, and who could the empowered slave possibly punish if not the white plantation owner?

Jonah Hill, Don Johnson, Kerry Washington, and a bevy of Tarantino supporting regulars round out the cast and they all do a typical job in line with expectation. The one who shines however, is none other than Samuel L. Jackson as Steven, the house slave who is about as Uncle Tom as you can get. His thick makeup and white hair is almost comical, but his portrayal of the most hated and feared black man on the plantation is spot on. He may as well be Dave Chappelle as he gives his best old man impression, but for some reason it's totally acceptable. The period piece idea is so ludicrous as it is, that the costumes, accents, and even makeup isn't out of place at all.

I speak lightly about the subject only because Quentin Tarantino blatantly opens the door to it. He seems to have a green light in Hollywood that other directors simply don't. Kudos to him, he has the Weinsteins behind his creative juices, and the three of them are making money hand over fist with each subsequent release. It's an impressive achievement on their part, and the films they make are continually pushing new boundaries, this time with more blood, male nudity, and the use of a word that is the epitome of American shame.

The details and quirky comedy are the glue that hold the film together. Subtle comments or a wobbly plastic tooth bouncing around on top of a horse-drawn carriage are what make these films worth watching. Seeing good actors stepping outside their normal comfort zones and opening new doors is exciting to see. I would love to see more of Leo DiCaprio out of his typical stereotypical roles, but that will remain to be seen.

Quentin Tarantino returns to his Kill Bill series next, with his third installment. The date is to be determined, but as he writes the screenplay, expect a few years to pass before we see it. One thing is for sure, it will be something different. 7/10.