I like Quintin Tarantino as a director, I think he has an incredible outlook on filmmaking however his films are very long, but I felt this one flew by.

Django Unchained follows a bounty hunter who enlists Django to help him, as a free man not a slave, in hunting down his bounties. But along the way the paths cross with Django wanting to free his wife, who is still enslaved at a place called Candie land.

While this movie has a lot of dark elements to it, especially being set during the slave trade and just before the Civil War, it also has a lot of funny moments that really are quite comforting but also quite jarring against the horror. You almost feel bad for laughing at the parts you’re meant to laugh at because the rest is so horrific, but it gives you that light relief even just for a moment that makes you remember that this is just a movie and it’s okay to enjoy it.

As I said at the start this movie flew by. It’s over two hours long but it didn’t feel that long at all. It was so easy to watch, the story just kept going and because of the actors that were chosen for this movie being so strong there was never a dull moment. You enjoyed every second of it and really became connected to the characters especially at the end, with everything that happens, you really feel for Django and what he’s gone through and how hopefully his life will now be better.

I love a good gory film, I love movies that make me want to cover my eyes at what I’m seeing but the gore in this film is on a different level. It is so brutal and bloody and raw that there were moments I couldn’t look because the pain the characters were going through I could feel in myself too, and that includes the bad characters as well. I don’t think it’s unrealistic, I did have to ask someone about the gunshots and whether that amount of blood would come out of that sort of gunshot and they did tell me that it’s pretty accurate, so I’m not saying that it’s stupidly overdone but it doesn’t hold back on the horror of these people and horses getting shot.

I really enjoyed this film and I would recommend it to others as well, even if you don’t like western films which I’m not a huge fan of. I really enjoyed this one because you invest in the story so early on and the exciting incident that happens really makes you want to continue watching, and from that point on there is not a dull moment. It seems quite historically accurate too which is always fun to watch and to be able to dive deeper into it, and it definitely gives you both heartbreaking moments as well as heartwarming moments and that sense of excitement and intrigue that you want from a film.

Quentin Tarantino is known for words, he is brilliant with what he says, and while there were long monologues and moments of chatting in this film I don’t feel that it ever took too long to get to the point or got to a point where I didn’t care anymore. It was so artfully done and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

What do you think of Django Unchained?

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Media graduate with a passion for reviewing film and TV. View all posts by shonaharding