DJANGO UNCHAINED

Django Unchained (2012)

My Score: 9.0/10
IMDB Score: 8.7/10
Rating: R
Favorite Lines: "I like the way you die, boy" and "Cora, say goodbye to Miss Laura"..."Bye Miss Laura!"
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington and Samuel L. Jackson


When I first watched the trailer for Django Unchained I was disturbed and intrigued all at the same time; I wasn’t quite sure which one I felt more strongly. But I knew I was NOT going to see a movie about slavery, and definitely NOT a Quentin Tarantino film about slavery and ABSOLUTELY NOT on Christmas Day. Well y’all...I DID NOT see that movie...on Christmas Day. I waited until after New Years and after I heard from multiple sources (which included mostly Black friends and family) that they did NOT leave the theater extremely jaded about the future of this country, vehemently furious about it’s past, or exceptionally mad at all White people. So I put my big girl pants on and dragged my mom and aunt to the movie theater to see Django AND I LOVED IT! I’ve actually seen it twice now and it is most likely going to be added to my collection when it comes out on DVD.

So why was I so hesitant? Well, if you’ve ever seen any of Quentin Tarantino’s films NOT on censored television, but in theaters, on DVD, or whatever, you know that his films are usually bloody, gory, cut-throat and offensive. I mean they’re phenomenal films but be ready to see Daryl Hannah’s eyeball get plucked out and squished into a moldy blood-stained carpet (Kill Bill vol 2.) or for Samuel L. Jackson to blow the brains out of some guy sitting in the backseat (Pulp Fiction) or for some Nazi’s head to be brutally bashed in with a bat (Inglorious Bastards). I could go on and on with examples but what I’m trying to explain is with Quentin Tarantino’s style you really see the insides of some guys brains splattered everywhere, you REALLY hear the skull cracking underneath the force of that bat, and you feel that eye getting ripped out and squished. I don’t know if its just me but I can’t help but wince and cringe each and every time and I wouldn’t say I’m squimish. But you may think differently! 

Anyways, Tarantino is raw and non-withholding with violent scenes making them dramatic and overzealous but extremely real and tangible at the same time. So I was definitely bracing myself for the whipping scenes and the blood and the gore in Django! The violence in Django wasn’t any worse than his other movies. However, to be honest, while I could bare the whipping scenes with Kerry Washington I couldn’t help but cover my eyes ***SPOILER*** when Leonardo DiCaprio’s character fed his “Mandingo” slave to some dogs or during the Mandingo fighting scene(took me back to Ellison’s Invisible Man). **** Both of these scenes were terribly graphic and evoked a deep sadness, pain and rage within me (Tarantino’s aim, I’m sure). However, because my great-great-grandmother, who lived long enough for me to meet, was the daughter of a slave...I don’t know, it was a little too much for me. Anyways, most of the violence in this movie involved Django “killing white folks for money”.

What did I like about the movie?
Let’s talk about this cast: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Kerry Washington! Phenomenal. I loved everyone! Samuel L. Jackson did an amazing job acting as an Uncle Tom and depicting the actual power role  and complex relationships between the Master and his “servants”. The minute I laid eyes on Sam Jackson I immediately thought of Uncle Ruckus from Boondocks**. 

Uncle Ruckus's name is an amalgam of Uncle Tom and Amos Rucker, the latter being an African-American United Confederate Veterans member, who allegedly wanted to stay a slave after the Civil War. The name also bears a similarity to Uncle Remus.

Leonardo DiCaprio was amusing, yet creepily sinister as Calvin Candie; I don’t know when I’ll be able to NOT see him as a villain for a while. I absolutely love Christoph Waltz as Dr. Schultz; he has definitely redeemed himself (he’s in my good graces again) from his Nazi villainy in Inglorious Bastards and I’m really looking forward to seeing what else he’ll do in the future. Kerry Washington, like the many other women in this film, didn’t really have a voice (meaning she had very few lines). Her acting came through her facial expressions and because she is a great actress I loved it.
Also, the soundtrack was A-MAZING! Tarantino always uses an  interesting mix  of music  and he did not hold back for this movie. Django jumps across genres, from country, Latin, to rap and R&B; it even features an original song written by Jamie Foxx and performed by Rick Ross!  

Yes, there was a bunch of cursing, some in your face male frontal nudity, excessive use of the N word, lots of violence, yes Spike Lee disapproves and it will challenge you emotionally and psychologically! But there were many things I loved about this movie; it was original, daring, purposeful, and powerful.