Django Unchained: Is it good? Is it actually racist?

Of all the genres previously left untouched by Quentin Tarantino, the Spaghetti Western was always the most suited to the director’s unique brand of excessive violence, pedantic dialogue and satire. Following the mixed reception of Inglorious Basterds, Tarantino’s latest film was undoubtedly under severe pressure to deliver, especially considering the film’s sensitive theme of slavery. However, Django Unchained surpasses all expectations and is not only one of the best Tarantino films of all time, but also one of the best Westerns to date.

Django Unchained opens with the rescue of the film’s eponymous hero by Dr King Schultz, a dentist turned bounty hunter currently pursuing the fugitive Brittle brothers, who Django can identify. In exchange for his help, Schultz offers Django his freedom, but instead the pair decides to continue hunting targets together and eventually begin searching for Django’s estranged wife, Broomhilda.

Despite the film’s obvious focus on slavery, Django Unchained is a Western through and through. The costumes are inspired by a range of other westerns; the soundtrack perfectly blends Ennio Morricone with a twist of Rick Ross, while original Django star Franco Nero even graces the screen with a cameo. Oh, and then there’s the shootouts. In 1969 The Wild Bunch set the standard for violence in Westerns. More than 40 years later, Django Unchained has created a new benchmark for gunfights in any genre. Single bullets produce buckets full of blood and send henchmen flying across rooms, and all in wonderful slow motion. But don’t worry; you are unlikely to have any sympathy for the slavers who meet their deserved fate in this film.

Jamie Foxx plays what is perhaps one of the most likeable movie heroes of late, thanks to an impressive degree of character development. Starting as an illiterate and oppressed slave, Django manages to become the fastest and most accurate gun in the west, a deadly gunslinger capable of seeking revenge against those who harmed him most. Equally captivating is Christoph Waltz, who delivers a performance charismatic enough to rival his previous success in Inglorious Basterds. Intelligent, daring and frequently humorous, Waltz may quite easily win this years “Best Supporting Actor Award”, but I would also like to see him be equally proficient as a lead in the near future. The bounty hunters are rivaled by Calvin Candie, a brutal plantation owner played by Leonardo DiCaprio who adds a sense of dangerous uncertainty to every scene. Able to treat his property (mostly slaves) in any way he wants, Candie is both unstable and sickening, making him a terrifying villain. However, his naivety and short sightedness is highlighted by Samuel L. Jackson’s Stephen, a trusted slave whose wisdom and unique perspective over the plantation perhaps make him an even more proficient enemy than Candie himself. Some scenes will even leave you wondering whether Stephen is the one really pulling the strings in Candieland (I’m not joking that’s what the plantation is actually called).  

Any film which tackles the incredibly sensitive subject of slavery is bound to attract criticism and controversy, but some have suggested that Tarantino’s style of filmmaking trivializes the issue altogether. I know that Django Unchained barely restrains itself from showing scenes of violence concerning slaves and makes the N word as common as “the”. However, it would be more wrong to downplay the suffering of African Americans, and furthermore, Tarantino’s trademark aestheticization of violence is only visible during scenes in which whites are the ones being killed. Contrastingly, segments in which slaves suffer at the hands of their owners are unflinchingly brutal and completely serious. The best argument against any critic must surely be Django himself. Although he starts of as the protégée to a white bounty hunter, by the end of the film he has the confidence to act independently and punish the obviously evil slave owners who contribute to what was then known as “the business”. Honestly, I think that if the Black Panthers were still around today, they would claim Django to be a symbol of black power in a second.

If you are undecided about whether to see Django Unchained or not you merely have to ask yourself one question; do I like Quentin Tarantino? If the answer is yes, then Django Unchained is a brilliant take on the Spaghetti Western which showcases the director at his genre hopping best, and is also, in my opinion, his second greatest film after Pulp Fiction. That alone says a hell of a lot.