Django Unchained: Tarantino back in blaxploitation

Overly long and excessively violent, Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained isn’t as great of a movie as some critics make it out to be. And yet, Christoph Waltz’s performance is so terrific, it practically redeems a film. A veteran German-Austrian actor who won an Oscar for his role as the “Jew Hunter” in Tarantino’s previous effort, 2009’s Inglorious Basterds, Waltz here plays Dr. King Schultz, a crafty bounty hunter who frees the slave Django (Jamie Foxx) and then proceeds to help him attempt to free his wife (Kerry Washington), who has been captured by Calvin J. Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), a viscous plantation owner who forces male slaves to fight each other in brutal matches.

Tarantino has said he intended the movie to be a genre film (it’s a spaghetti Western—as was a 1966 Italian Django flick–mashed up with Blaxploitation) that deals with the brutality of slavery. The issue of slavery and racism is certainly central to the storyline. African Americans are routinely beaten and whipped in the film and — in one particularly violent scene — a man is fed to a pack of dogs. Whatever critique of American history that Tarantino might be offering here is obfuscated by the gratuitous nature of the violence and by the excessive use of the “n” word. While it might be the case that the film stays true to historical details, Tarantino is so concerned with style and attitude (the admittedly groovy soundtrack offers selections from composer Ennio Morricone as well as soul singer John Legend and folk-rock icon Jim Croce) that the unique spin on the American Western gets lost amidst the stylish shootouts and witty banter.

Predictably enough, the film culminates in a confrontation between Schultz, Django and Candie. The showdown is symbolic. True underdogs, Schultz and Django aren’t just taking on a mean man; they’re taking on an entire institution. While the scene has a certain glory to it, it’s also nothing we haven’t seen in previous Tarantino efforts. In the end, it’s the acting that holds the thing together. Waltz plays Schultz perfectly, balancing his brutal tendencies (he’s a ruthless killer) with his enlightened attitude (he treats Django as an equal). Confident and cavalier, Foxx gives Django his swagger, and DiCaprio is excellent as the twisted Candie. But in the end, Django’s message is a mixed one.