Guess what movie I loved?

Django Unchained in a nutshell

Okay, but seriously, Django Unchained is the Tarantinoest movie to ever Tarantino, and it's great. Tarantino could have continued in the vein of Inglourious Basterds and slip in a bit of commentary about the nature of violence in film, but instead he decided to not give a flying fuck and instead be the best b-movie referencing, snappy dialogue-writing, and bloodlusty filmmaker he could be. And it's amazing.

Something which is important to note about Django is that Tarantino is more interested in depicting slavery than saying anything particularly deep about it. Because depth requires subtlety, and the last thing he wanted to do was be subtle. He shows you the brutal world of slavery and throws around the word nigger constantly to hammer home how normal the dehumanization of black people was to whites, but he's not interested in doing much more with it or continuing into some sort of comment about it. Tarantino is setting us up for blood and revenge wish fulfillment, and in retrospect it's pretty silly that any of us expected anything different.  In the end, this is more a film about two bounty hunters: a former slave who will walk through gunfire and cut anybody down in order to get his wife back, and his mentor, a German guy who enjoys getting to legally kill people for money but finds slavery immoral. The "controversy" surrounding the film is bigger than Tarantino; the question isn't "Why has Tarantino made a film about slavery that doesn't discuss it very much" but "Is it okay to portray that time period with anything other than 100% seriousness?" In my opinion as A Black Person, I think it's completely fine; Tarantino manages to get schlocky and bloody without downplaying the actual bloodshed and horror of slavery.

But here I am talking about ideals without talking about the actual film. First of all, I don't think it's a minute overlong; I was worried once I heard it was nearly three hours, but I wasn't bored for a second and it's completely worth the time. There is one scene that's a bit of a clunker (Quentin, sweetie, you're much better behind the camera), but the rest is just great. It's as subtle as a brick in the best way, and surprisingly funny. Jamie Foxx is very good as Django, although he's overshadowed by the always charismatic Christoph Waltz, and Leonardo DiCaprio grabs your attention as the despicable Calvin Candie. Both have snagged Golden Globe nominations for their work, and while I kind of hate that a film with a black lead is only getting attention towards the white actors, I can say that Waltz definitely deserves it, and DiCaprio put a lot of work in the part. (I actually have some reservations about DiCaprio getting a ton of praise for the Candie role, but that's a subject for another time). The cinematography is beautiful, just as it was in Basterds, and Tarantino's use of music continues to be spot on.

In short, this might be my favorite movie of the year, and if you like Tarantino at all it's a must see. It's not as good as Basterds, but it's TARANTINO!!! all the way.