Django Unchained Review

Tarantino's greatest, or a pile of tumbleweed? The verdict is here...
When it comes to rating an Oscar Best Picture nominee such as Django Unchained, it's important to attempt to distance oneself from the knowledge of its various nominations in order to provide an 'objective' verdict on the matter. With this in mind, I went into Django with an open mind, even after the disappointing Inglorious Bastards (3/5). Thankfully, Quinten Tarantino doesn't make the same mistakes as in that mediocre WW2 romp, with his latest instalment of cinema more than living up to its not-insubstantial potential.

Firstly, it goes without saying that the man behind the camera, Tarantino, has an eye for cinema like no other. With Django, we've got possibly one of the finest visionary pieces of film since Avatar or the visionary legends before it, a beautiful drama packed with all of the scale and awe that recent takes on the Western genre such as Lawless have often lacked. There's not a single shot here which is placed to any great misuse, each camera angle and perspective providing a strong contribution to what is without a doubt one of the most impressive visual achievements in a long time.

At its heart, the narrative Tarantino tells is a simple one- ex-slave Django (Jamie Foxx) hooks up with Dr King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) to free his wife from the clutches of slave owner and tyrant Calvin Candy (Leonardo DiCaprio). Yet it is the manner in which this acclaimed writer deals with slavery and the issues surrounding it towards the Civil War that makes the plot so memorable, an incredible satirical take on the beliefs and morals of the American people at time. Few storylines have accomplished so much in terms of a historical rendition these past few years, and for that achievement alone Django Unchained deserves to be remembered as it clearly has by Academy Award critics. Indeed, the flick carries one of the best casts in a while too, with DiCaprio's Candy carrying a terrifying unpredictable nature, Waltz's Schultz a wise-cracking hilarity throughout and Samuel L Jackson getting a few choice hit lines in his unusually brief screen time.

My question is this, then- why does Django fail to impress quite as avidly as I reckon the Film Of The Year 2013 candidates that will come our way will in the months ahead? In no small part, the closing scenes don't help, bringing with them an uneasy sense of self-indulgence on Tarantino's shoulders, as the director takes what is at first a gratuitous and satisfying bloodbath worthy of the BBFC's 18 certificate, then transforms the conflict at hand into something rather tedious that supposedly befits multiple endings. You won't quite know when the full 165 minute running time has passed, and although the resolution does its narrative justice, it still seems as if a decent 20-30 minutes or so could have been trimmed off for a later extended editions. The likes of The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Les Miserables have all justified their lengthy running times recently by proving gripping throughout, yet whereas DiCaprio's Candy might say "You had my curiosity, but now you have my attention", I felt the opposite was true of the movie's final moments. Sure, I was enjoying myself in the sheer violence and hilarity, but I wasn't exactly reeling for more as I'd hoped come the credits.

Nevertheless, with his latest movie instalment, Tarantino has mastered the arts of direction, sound design and casting, bringing us a well-rounded production that deserves the majority of merits being thrown its way these past few weeks. Django Unchained isn't quite the groundbreaking game-changer it sets out to be, but it's worth your time simply for DiCaprio and Waltz's show-stealing performances alone, and remains a fitting epitaph for the Western film genre as it stands in 2013 thanks to the mastery of the man at its helm.
4.5/5