A little bit cluttered

Rating: 8/10 (21 January 2013)

'Django Unchained' is the latest film by the brilliant Quentin Tarantino which tells the story of recently freed Django who becomes a bounty hunter and tries to free his wife from slavery.
Tarantino usually brings out the best in actors and this film is no different; Jamie Foxx gives an admirable performance in the lead role here but his performance is overshadowed by those of Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson. You may remember Waltz's performance in Tarantino's 'Inglorious Basterds' where he was absolutely fantastic and fully deserved his Oscar for best supporting actor. Unfortunately, I don't quite understand why he has been nominated now; although his performance is good and he is very funny, I think it is appalling that Leonardo DiCaprio has no Oscar nod – his character is horrible, cruel, and evil and he plays it perfectly! He makes you shudder sometimes with his callousness and makes you laugh at his stupidity. Samuel L. Jackson is great here; I've never seen him do a role like this but he was brilliant and I'm a bit disappointed that he hasn't received any awards recognition here either. One performance that wasn't up to scratch was that of Tarantino himself; with a small role as an Australian (I think). He does redeem himself a little with his grand exit but I think he should stick to playing corpses next time.
A major problem with this film is its length; this is where 'Django Unchained' fails the most. There are several points where you think scenes should have been cut just because they don't really play a huge part in the overall story. The dialogue is genius and it is a real pleasure to listen to it because it is so well written. The action sequences are so well choreographed (as always) and are really funny at some points and genuinely horrifying at others. The issue of slavery is dealt with in a very professional way here; at no point does Tarantino attempt to glamorise or romanticise the slave trade and the slaves themselves. He does a great job of showing slavery in its true horror and portrays the ghastly nature of some people during those times. I cannot think of any other film which has dealt with this issue in such a way but I'm really pleased someone finally showed how awful it was. The story overall is interesting but it doesn't run very smoothly because there are at least two moments where you think the film will end but it doesn't and you begin to get a little bit exacerbated at how long it is.
Overall, this is a great film but it is far too long. I absolutely love Quentin Tarantino and he has done a great job here but a lot more should have been cut. It is a brilliantly funny and powerful film that is just a little bit cluttered.