Set in the South two years before the Civil War, Django Unchained stars Jamie Foxx as Django, 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 because only he can recognize them.
Django agrees to help Schultz, but remains focused on one goal: finding and rescuing Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), the wife he lost to the slave trade. After finding the Brittle brothers, Schultz agrees to help Django find his wife. Their search ultimately leads them to Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), the proprietor of “Candyland,” an infamous plantation.
Django raises the suspicions of Candie’s staunchly loyal senior house slave, Stephen (Samuel Jackson), who correctly deduces that Django and Broomhilda know each other. When Stephen informs Candie of his suspicions, all hell breaks loose.
Django has everything you’d want in a movie, action, humor, suspense, drama, and even some romance, all washed down with gallons of blood. Did I mention some beautiful western vistas? it’s got those too. And there are plenty of refernces to some of the geat westerns of the past, some of them only visual so pay attention. There is the trade mark Tarantino dialogue as well.
I’m sure other reviewers will talk about racial-political implications and social commentary and such. I’m not that smart. I just thought this was a fast paced and satisfying film for movie fans from beginning to end. Leonardo Di Caprio makes for a great villain, keeping himself just this side of over-the-top. Jamie Fox played Django as quiet waters that ran deep but Christopher Walz steals the show, although Samuel L. Jackson almost beat him to it.
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Year of Release: 2012
Character to watch: Jamie Foxx as Django
Journal your answers to the following questions after you watch the movie.
- How does this particular character’s journey compare with yours?
- Did the character develop certain characteristics during the movie that you have or that you would like to have? If so, what are those characteristics?
- What obstacles did this character face? What was his or her biggest challenge?
- What would you have done differently if you had been in the same position as the character?
- Is this character the type of person you would be friends with? Why or why not?