Pure Escapism

Rating: 7/10 (5 May 2013)

Like most of Quentin Tarantino's work "Django Unchained" will defy the efforts of those who seek to categorise movies into neat genres. The best way to describe it is "Sergio Leone meets Quentin Tarantino meets 50 cents", though the spaghetti comes with a liberal spattering of red sauce, the western is served with a heavy dose of southern bigotry, and hey – why not throw in a little bit of rapping??!.
This is a story of love, slavery and bounty hunters in the wild west - interrupted only by a "Blazing Saddles" type skit which nails the vacuous and ridiculous Ku Klux Klan to their own burning cross in hilarious fashion.
For all their immense acting talents Leonardi DeCaprio (Calvin Candie, an egocentric and opportunistic cotton plantation owner) and Samuel L Johnson (the obsequious servant Stephen) are reduced to mere bit players as first Christopher Waltz (bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz) and then Jamie Foxx (main character Django) hold centre stage with their single minded pursuit of their goals.
There are some unique and memorable moments in "Django Unchained", much to take in as your senses are assaulted by gun-slinging slave traders and their complicit "aristocratic" buyers, the plight of the unfortunate slaves themselves, and the twists and turns that befall our bounty hunter, and his self-proclaimed (albeit oxymoronic) "free slave".
I loved this film as a form of escapism, and I'm not sure there is a better way to enjoy Tarantino's unique and formidable talents.