Django Unchained has generated quite a bit of excitement upon release. Quentin Tarantino’s previous film Inglourious Basterds was hailed as a remarkable return to form from the maverick director so hopes have been considerably high.
The plot centres on a freed slave and a bounty hunter who set out on a mission to free the wife of the slave from a charismatic but cruel plantation owner. Along the way, there is much mayhem and shooting exploits.
Undoubtedly there is some fine acting on display here. Jamie Foxx puts in a tremendously understated performance as Django, the freed slave, while Christoph Waltz is excellent as the bounty hunter. The Austrian-born actor’s star is on the rise following his Oscar win a few years ago. Leonardo Di Caprio continues his fine run of form as the dastardly plantation owner while Samuel L Jackson provides a fine slice of wit as a loyal house slave.
Django Unchained has performed well at the box office and is well in the reckoning for success at the Oscars next month. Tarantino has proven time and again that he can do whatever he wants. There is plenty of crude and racist language to be heard but also some sophisticated humour on show.
The length of the film is a crucial point. At over 160 minutes, it is a tad long and could certainly have been a bit shorter. There is plenty of blood and guts but fans of Tarantino wouldn’t have it any other way.
There is much to savour about this film but it falls far short of his best work. Having said that, it is an ambitious project to create a modern spaghetti western and Tarantino manages to achieve exactly what he set out to do.
