Django Unchained Movie Review | by tiffanyyong.com
Recommended Audience: Leonardo DiCaprio fans, James Foxx fans, adventure, action, humour lovers
Django Unchained Movie Synopsis
Set in the South two years before the Civil War, Django (Jamie Foxx) is a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz).
Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty. The unorthodox Schultz acquires Django with a promise to free him upon the capture of the Brittles – dead or alive. Success leads Schultz to free Django, though the two men choose not to go their separate ways. Instead, Schultz seeks out the South’s most wanted criminals with Django by his side. Honing vital hunting skills, Django remains focused on one goal: finding and rescuing Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), the wife he lost to the slave trade long ago. Django and Schultz’s search ultimately leads them to Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), the proprietor of “Candyland,” an infamous plantation.
Exploring the compound under false pretenses, Django and Schultz arouse the suspicion of Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), Candie’s trusted house slave. Their moves are marked, and a treacherous organization closes in on them. If Django and Schultz are to escape with Broomhilda, they must choose between independence and solidarity, between sacrifice and survival.
Django Unchained Viewer Rating: 4.5/5 ****
Django Unchained Movie Review:
Not a typical movie that I would watch, but I watched it anyway, for Leonardo DiCaprio, he appeared on the second half of the 165min movie, and I was surprised he’s a badass. The humour here and there kept the film interesting and it showed how slavery was rampant in the West before the civil war.
Christoph Waltz plays Dr. King Schulz, a German dentist turned bounty hunter who frees Django so he could help identify his previous owners who are wanted by the sheriff. The doctor was very charismatic and with his odd-sense of personality (perhaps because he’s the only white that doesn’t approve of slavery in the film). No surprise, the odd one out is usually the one that makes you remember the most, and I hate it when (spoilers right ahead) he dies. But yet again, he’s someone who kills for money, someone you would usually hate in the normal films, now portrayed in another light.
Django, played by James Foxx, is also not the normal submissive slave you see. He is fearless, baring his soul (and body) in order to save his wife. For a man freed from slavery, he learns fast, be it shooting, or getting used to the freedom from slavery, and “acts” well enough to bluff everyone.
Leonardo Dicaprio, my teen idol is now a Southerner with discoloured teeth and a scruffy beard. From Jack in Titanic, to Catch Me If You Can, to Revolutionary Road, he now plays a plantation owner, Calvin Candie, and is the owner of Django’s wife. At the scene where he revealed three dimples from a skull that belongs to his father, he is literally terrifying. He’s bad, and I hate him so much that I love him. He never fails to BE the character and not ACT out the character. This show is a must watch, if you want to see another side of him.
Do You Know?
- Will Smith, Idris Elba, Chris Tucker, Terrence Howard, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Tyrese Gibson were all considered for the role of Django. Quentin Tarantino actually wrote the role with Smith in mind, and Smith’s agents and manager wanted him to accept it, but Smith ultimately decided to pass. Tarantino then offered the part to Jamie Foxx, who accepted.
- Jamie Foxx used his own horse, Cheetah, in the movie.
- This is the second time Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington have portrayed a married couple. The two previously starred as Ray Charles and Della Bea Robinson in Ray.
4. Lady Gaga was considered for the role of Lara Lee Candie-Fitzwilly.
- The word “nigger” or some abbreviation of it is said over 110 times over the course of the movie.
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In an interview promoting the film, Quentin Tarantino stated that originally the mandingo fight scene and the scene with the dogs were longer and more violent. Quentin said he felt like he was going to “traumatize” the audience of the film so he cut both scenes down.
In the scene where Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Calvin Candie smashes the palm of his hand on the dinner table, the actor broke a glass under his hand and really began to bleed. DiCaprio ignored it, stayed in character, and continued with the scene. This take was the one used in the film.
Leonardo DiCaprio, whose role in the film marked the first time him playing a villain since The Man in the Iron Mask, was uncomfortable with how horrible and explicitly racist his character was. However, Quentin Tarantino convinced him to be as menacing as possible saying that if he didn’t take it all the way, people would hold it against him forever.
Excluding films in which the cast is billed alphabetically (Celebrity and Don’s Plum) this is the first time in 16 years that Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t get the top billing.
Nice posters for downloads!
Django Unchained will be in cinemas (Singapore) from 21st March 2013 onwards.
Visit the Django Unchained official website and the Django Unchained Facebook Page!
xoxo
*Disclosure: No monetary compensation was received for the movie review.
1/2 of #TheEpiphanyDuplet, Tiffany Yong juggles her ABCs – Acting, Blogging and Coaching/Consulting as she is fuelled by passion and drive to succeed.
It is not easy to make a living in Singapore just purely based on Acting, so with Blogging to help her with her online presence, and Coaching kids drama, private tutoring and freelance social media consulting to finance her life, she is currently leading the life most people hope to have: Living the Dream!
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