A Serious, Well-Made Film . . .

Rating: 8/10 (4 January 2013)

I had read four reviews of "Django Unchained," and all of them contained very unflattering or harsh assessments of the film. After watching it today, I wonder if all of us watched the same movie.
The first reaction I had was and continues to be this: Tarantino has made a serious movie. The attention to detail is stunning. I wouldn't be surprised if the costumer earned an Oscar.
Leonardio DiCaprio is at his very best. And he's playing an elegant creep - or rather, he is someone flourishing in a creepy culture much of which is economically and emotionally accepted - the way the global drug culture is accepted by many today.
Christoph Waltz has the toughest role: trying to outdo the part he played in "Inglorious Basterds." In "Django Unchained," however, he serves his dramatic function ably.
Jamie Foxx is nearly perfect in his role as Django in a movie that runs on a bit too long, but Tarantino is so good as this sort of speculative revisionist history cum film, that it must be tough to turn the camera off. Foxx's performance is emblematic of much of the cast and the spirit of the film - authentic.
I was shocked to see how many capable actors like Bruce Dern have important brief cameos in the movie. Tarantino has assembled quite an effective aesthetic coalition, and, for the most part, this movie works. It makes the culture of slavery come alive in all of its horror, a culture based upon racial hubris.
Samuel L. Jackson is also at the very top of his form, exceeding my expectations as a sort of African American slave, Calvin Candie "Yes man," and majordomo of Candie's mansion. DiCaprio's visceral demonstration of phrenology at the dinner table is entirely chilling.
At the very least, this film will provoke intense discussion, argument, debate about slavery, segregation, the history of the American South and other cognate topics.
I read Tarantino's recent interview in "Playboy" Magazine, and I know he is quite concerned about his reputation, his legacy, and, chiefly, about not only keeping the quality of his films up, but, moreover, knowing when to quit. He cites the examples of many other seminal directors who continued to make movies and faded in promise, impact, or aesthetic greatness. Tarantino is only 49 years old. I hope he is not ready to quit, but if he did, this movie would not be a bad way to go out.
There is violence in the movie, but I don't feel that it is glamorized. The actual history of violence in 1858 as compared to the violence in this movie is tantamount to comparing a snowstorm to a snowflake. The idea of an African American avenger/savior/fast gun is believably handled, especially when the most powerful themes seem to be liberty, freedom, and love. As a revivionistic view of history, "Djano Unchained" is more believable than "Dances with Wolves."
I know that some, like Spike Lee, detest this movie. Just as many readers have seen Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" as a satire of racism, there are others who see it as promulgating racism if only because of the prevalence of the use of the N word. That will probably be the case in "Django Unchained" also. Had I grown up the victim of vicious racism, I might very well feel exactly that way.
I think "Django Unchained" is a well-made movie that takes its themes seriously. The fact that it has commanded so many fine actors and actresses to participate, and the fact that these artists are performing at the top of their form, represents a powerful testimony to the scope, the range and the achievement this movie signifies.
Many scenes in "Inglorious Basterds" seemed to be throw-away interludes, rather juvenile creations inserted in the form of a gag, a joke. This is not the case with "Django Unchained." I think this movie will serve as the launching pad for discussions about a period of American history that few if any are proud of, but as I think we saw clearly in the recent November elections, the battle for the freedom of women and minorities is far from over. Such battles apparently need to be continually fought and re-fought.