Like “Inglorious Basterds,” Django Unchained is also a revisionist historical revenge fantasy that mixes facts with fiction to create a movie that you have never seen before.
This time an American-African protagonist sets out on a quest in the antebellum southern states of pre-Civil War America.
The central subject of the movie is slavery and the appalling abuse of a race in that period. A major part of any Tarantino movie is violence and extreme violence and he uses it to showcase the gruesome practices of the period with constant use of the “N” word (nigger). But then Torantino with the help of his loyal cast explores drama with a pinch of comedy (at times) to create a lull before the action.
Christoph Waltz, who got all major awards for Best Supporting Actor this year for his performance as Dr. King Schultz plays the charmer very much like in “Inglorious Basterds” (this time as a good guy) and carries the movie with Jamie Foxx (Django), the muscular American-African protagonist who is on a quest and rarely smiles.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s portrayal of Calvin J. Candie does make a mark. You can hate him but can’t ignore the nastiness and if DiCaprio seems to you nasty watch out for Stephen played by Samuel L. Jackson, he redefined the word betrayal and you will hear him ‘laugh’. Django Unchained is male actors dominated movie but Kerry Washington’s almost invisible role as Broomhilda Von Shaft is far from your stereotype American-African of the period.
Tarantino proved the old saying that ‘casting is the secret of all drama’.
At the core of it, it is a movie with gentle gags, some good performances, picturesque scenery, bullets and blood and Torantino ends the movie with a bang.
Disclaimer: If you are a sensitive viewer, please give this movie a miss.
Ratings: 4/5