Movie Title: Django Unchained
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writer: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Walton Goggins, Dennis Christopher, James Remar, Don Johnson, Franco Nero, James Russo, Tom Wopat, Bruce Dern, M.C. Gainey, Jonah Hill, Zoë Bell, Michael Bowen, Robert Carradine, Tom Savini, Michael Parks, Quentin Tarantino
Review: When a peculiar German dentist (Christoph Waltz) forms a partnership with Django (Jamie Foxx), a freed slave, they ride from plantation to plantation to find and rescue Django's wife, Broomhilda von Shaft (Kerry Washington), from a cruel and brutal Mississippi plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio). All-the-while the duo takes bounty hunting to another level as they hunt down bandits, ruthless killers and deplorable slave traders.
Django Unchained is writer/director Quentin Tarantino's Oscar winning (Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor) western and it's hands-down the best movie of 2012. Tarantino is a master storyteller. He creates unique characters that say the most wonderfully interesting dialogue while existing in a world and experiencing a plot like none other.
What I like most about Django Unchained is that Tarantino takes the time to flesh out all of his characters, good and bad, so that we understand them and what they want. There is no mystery about Django (Foxx) and Dr. King Schultz (Waltz) or their intentions. The drama and the suspense come from trying to figure out just how they are going to pull off freeing Django's wife and not get killed in the process.
Another aspect that I rather enjoyed, and something that movies seem to neglect these days, is a deplorably ruthless villain that is vile, depraved and evil beyond all comprehension. A great villain makes for a great hero, and Leonardo DiCaprio's Calvin Candie is one of the best villains in recent memory. That character is horrendously despicable and you love to hate him and root for Django and Schultz to, if I may paraphrase Marsellus Wallace in Pulp Fiction, "get medieval on his ass." Speaking of which, I noticed with this recent viewing that antagonist characters are killed on-screen with a rather over-the-top, graphic flair and the protagonist, particularly the characters that were slaves, are killed or brutalized more off-screen which makes their plight that much more painful, real, and powerful. That Tarantino knows what he's doing.
Even with a running time of 166 minutes, Django Unchained flies by which is all thanks to Tarantino's dialogue, quirkiness, ultra-violence, humor, brutality, characters and character. Django Unchained is definitely one of his best and really exemplifies his love of film and filmmaking. A must-see!
Fun Fact: When Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) smashes his hand on the dinner table, DiCaprio accidentally crushed a small stemmed glass with his palm and really began to bleed. He ignored it, stayed in character, and continued with the scene. Quentin Tarantino was so impressed that he used this take in the final print, and when he called cut, the room erupted in a standing ovation. DiCaprio's hand was bandaged, and he suggested the idea of smearing blood onto the face of Kerry Washington. Tarantino and Washington both liked this, so Tarantino got some fake blood together.