Behind The Violence

Rating: 9/10 (16 March 2013)

Django Unchained is a Western film that is thematically about revenge against slavery and racism. The film clearly understands how terrible this condition is, thus it gets interesting to that point. Since this is a Quentin Tarantino film, he never abandons his own style. Just like any of his films, it is brilliant in craft, gives a set of memorable characters charmed by the performances, and a high entertainment quality. The journey is quite enjoyable, though towards the end it disappointingly creates a misstep but it's all good anyway. Django Unchained hasn't beat Tarantino's best but it still can be memorable and undeniably enthralling.
Any movie fan, especially of course Quentin Tarantino's fans, would definitely love the experience. The most obvious reason is his pure cinematic style. There's violence, great characters, and classic filmmaking. It's easy enough to get satisfied by those. The storytelling is pretty much of a Western story can be. The film takes a serious theme that keeps the plot intriguing. It sets an uneasy context and displays the violence of those times. At the point when Schultz first reacts at Django's whip marks and the depiction of that cruel history, there's a sense that the film might go extraordinary than just another cinematic pleasure. Disappointingly, the final act suddenly transforms the whole movie into an insane sweet revenge story. It seems like it's suppose to be a fan service or it's trying to be faithful to the Western genre, but it's random from all that was set up on the first two acts. It's not bad. It's just random. Again, it's still enjoyable but it could have been better and much compelling.
The performances are as fun as a Tarantino film could ask. Jamie Foxx convincingly shows the personality, swagger, and the pathos inside of Django which is great enough to the character. Christoph Waltz once again steals the show. Mostly because his character gets to do more things than Django. Waltz is just being Waltz but his performance still shines as he brings charm to the character. Leonardo DiCaprio stands out, not only because it's an unusual performance from him but he also manages to hide the unknown sinister behind the villain's awkward charisma.
The filmmaking is, without a doubt, stunning. The direction shows off many styles and impressive shots. The script is witty and makes the entire film entertaining. Even from the very first sequence, you already get the sense of fascination on what's happening. The production design is classy enough to make things look good. The cinematography is indeed perfect for a Western film, and the music score fits to every scene. Everyone will definitely find the action exciting even if the bloody violence may look too splashy.
Django Unchained is a spectacular cinema despite of its mistakes. At least it never avoids portraying the ugliness of the setting. The dazzling styles can't even gloss that over. There is still something missing in the end which is sort of difficult to forget, but all the strange fun, humor, and intrigue will always grip you throughout the experience. The filmmaking and the performances are already remarkable to be fascinated. It's a near masterpiece. If only it was less ridiculous and less forced at the third act. Though, this flaw isn't really that bad. In fact, it's probably one of the best looking flaws you'll see. No one could make a flaw this good like Tarantino. Overall, it has plenty of memorably great moments and achievements that indicates that the film is still amazing.