Django
Unchained:
A film about Life, Liberty and the
Pursuit of Vengeance
Thank you for taking a break from your
routine day to see what Gilchrist says about Django Unchained.
I know there will be many people who
will assume that Django Unchained is
simply your run of the mill slave movie, told from the perspective of a White
man. But it is so much more than
that. I am typically not a fan of Tarantino’s
films but found Django Unchained to
be both interesting and entertaining with surprisingly humorous moments. It would have to be in order to get me to
stay and watch for almost three hours.
If you are brave enough to put your preconceived ideas aside to actually
go to the theater to see this film, you will find that Django Unchained is a love story wrapped in a Tarantino R-rated
action flick, focused on a black man set in the mid-1800s when slavery in
America was a booming business. I am
reluctant to call this a slave film. So,
without spoiling the film for you, I will give you some tales from Django Unchained to look forward to
should you venture out to see it.
While the writer touches on some of the
lesser known, but equally brutal horrors of slavery, (Mandingo death fights, “R”
branding, being ripped to shreds by dogs, etc.) he does not portray the
bulk of these slaves in the typical docile, ignorant and obedient manner that
is so common with Hollywood films.
Though the synopsis describes Samuel L. Jackson’s character as the
‘trusted house slave’ he actually regularly smart mouths his master “Sam
Jackson-style” without any apparent repercussions whatsoever. Django looks white people in the eye during
the entire film and shows no fear in their presence. He also spends the bulk of the film dressed
very differently from typical slaves and he knows how to ride a horse, which is
unique because black people were not allowed to actually ride on horses during
slavery times. Hildie, played by Kerry
Washington, speaks German and has a fire in her that keeps her hungry for
freedom.
He also portrays the white people in
this film differently from typical slave films.
Quite often, Hollywood will create slave masters and other whites in
these movies to be seen as dignified, intelligent and well bred. In Django
Unchained there is an overwhelming amount of stupidity and foolishness
flowing from the white characters in this film, which causes them to be
repeatedly outsmarted by Django and his partner Schultz. His attempt to create funny scenes is
successful, though some may still feel uncomfortable with the humor in this
film.
Dr. Schultz, played by Inglourious Basterds Christoph Waltz,
and Leonardo DiCaprio are both filled with their own individual eccentricities,
which they each wear proudly for all to see.
But their very opposite peculiarities are what lead to the big showdown
of the film.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Quentin Tarantino
film if there wasn’t a giant bloody mess leaving a trail of corpses
behind. Also true to form is his overuse
of the “N” word throughout the film. I
counted hearing it over 100 times before the bloody showdown begins,
which is at least 45 minutes prior to the end of the movie. But at the same time, he brilliantly allows
Hildie to communicate her entire story in less than 25 lines. Quentin stumped me with that one, I must
say.
Django and Hildie are fully triumphant
in this film and I’m sure I have ever seen that in a film about black people
set in the mid 1800s. They actually ride
off into the sunset, happy and victorious (okay—that’s a spoiler but I couldn’t
help myself).
Overall, I highly recommend seeing this
film, if only to see it’s cinematic beauty and some amazing, not-to be missed
performances throughout the project. The
title of this piece is actually taken from one of the movie’s more recent tag lines:
“Django—Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Vengeance” which is an accurate
description. While it will always be
challenging for black people to see depictions of themselves on the screen from
the years prior to the Civil War, these stories really happened and it is a big
part of our history, like it or not. Django Unchained plays with these
circumstances in a way that allows the title character and the love of his life
to be seen as nothing short of heroic, honorable and exceptional.
My personal commentary is this: If you view this film with an open mind, you
will remember that folks like Django paved the way for us to have people like
the real Jamie Foxx, and women like Hildie are the ancestors of ladies like
Kerry Washington who is simultaneously portraying Olivia Pope, inspired by a
fixer named Judy Smith. The blood, sweat
and courage of people like Django and Hildie allows all of us to decide who we
are and what we become in this United States of America. So don’t hate their stories, not matter who
writes/distributes them, no matter how much it may sting or how hard it is to
watch. It’s our history and only we
could have descended from people with that kind of strength, integrity and
power.
Now, back to work (but post comments first)!
Read the IMDB synopsis here
