Django Unchained
Following classic Django movies, with a hint of exploitation and lots of 12 Years A Slave, this is about fighting evil with truth, with words and cleverness rather than guns and force, and taking down the unjust evildoers, not their horses. Unexpectedly, it’s a bit Ocean’s on a small-scale as a heist movie with a difference and should discourage anyone ever from wanting a Plantation wedding.
Those perpetuating systemic injustice are shown to be fractious, racist and thick, as they bicker about how big the eye holes should be in their Klan-style hoods (and whether they need to be able to see or not as they ride to raid). Intelligence outsmarts evil and the truth of the Law is used in verbosity against them all. Appearances are never as they seem and they can be outwitted.
Them there is sheer style as Django (Jamie Foxx) is treated finally as an equal human being, sitting in a saloon, having shaken off his shackles and shabby covering with princely stature. I love how the camera captures Django in hero pose, and how he’s given slow-mo cool as he takes down the bad guys, one by one.
Rather than running around screaming, swearing and shooting, this is a Western of restraint, of discussion, debate, ideas shared and intellectual curiosity. Though there are squelchy shooty explosive scenes too, just in case you doubted this was a Tarantino movie. But like Inglorious Basterds, this is more about the brain than the weapons.
We see the horrible cruelty of enslavement in its shackles and chains and torturous headpieces and collars, in the brandings, places of punishment and whippings. These are contrasted with the freedom of being a cowboy, of riding your own horse, of choosing your own swag and horse tack: a heroic Siegfried with a gun, on the open snowy mountains. At the same time, we can see that Django takes no pleasure in killing for cash, even if there is a just reason for doing so. The only time he shows relish is in blowing up Candie Land — and this may be because of what this place represents to his wife. Like Craig’s Bond, we see the impact killing has on his soul — just the look on his face in remorse and conflict when he shoots a boy’s father, not wanting to shoot a farmer ‘just because’.
The theme I have issue with is the almost exploitative portrayal of women, being dragged, whipped and branded. Their vulnerable naked backs and bodies exposed, their shaming, their terror and being under threat of harm. Apart from being beautiful or not, they seem to lack agency and just exist to be rescued or abused. (Something which is completely reversed in Inglorious Basterds). Whilst I like the legendary heroic element and the faithfulness of husband to wife in desperate circumstances, I wish we didn’t see so many women brutalised.
And then there’s the contrast — of lush beautiful landscapes, of farms and towns, of sumptuous homes with every comfort and luxury in them — with what goes on and what is done to people in them or around them in barns and out-buildings. The 1960’s rogue elements in a very 19th century home sets everything off kilter, just like the aperitif jelly beans — and so it should. Everything with these people and the enslavement system they perpetuate is wrong, as is the dehumanising of the people around them, as sexy maid, decorative ornament, fighting to the death. We see the lack of choice and brutal force throughout — a man is forced to kill another, fighting to the death, he’s then given a beer he doesn’t want and a woman forced onto him in his room before he goes through it all again tomorrow. Worst of all, this very epitome of strong adult male is called ‘boy’, as are all black adult and women are infantilised, treated generally as lesser and stupid. And yet literacy is power — Django can not only read and spell his name, but advise stupid white people on the silent letter in it. These evil men (and women) may have the power — but they’re fundamentally stupid in how they see the world, other people and in their expectations of the world and other people. We’ve already seen that misuse of the Bible (a kind of literal Bible bashing of the worst kind) doesn’t pay — neither does ignorance and lack of education, or an unwillingness to recognise other people as people. not saleable resources.
But, watch out, the delusions and fantasies of the enslavers are going to come crashing down! Contrasted all the time with Django’s solid, stable, thoughtful, effortless, watchful cool: ‘the Fastest Gun in the South’. I loathe smoking, but goodness Jamie Foxx is the epitome of cool smoking in a deeply hostile environment as the enslavers witter on, all its ‘Gone With The Wind’ tropes mocked everywhere all at once.
Underlying the Western, is an intriguing subplot about power dynamics, layers of power and participation in the system. Candie’s sister (and to an extent her maid), though at the same time forced by their economic status and gender, are very happy to exploit and pimp an enslaved woman for a white man’s whim. We see this in a finally gussy up before the poor woman is pushed into Dr Schwartz’s (Christoph Waltz) bedroom. Equally, Candie’s sister will play Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata repetitively on the harp and pass round angel food cake whilst her brother threatens to smash out a woman’s brains with a hammer. Django hardens himself impersonating a black enslaver, as Candie to choose to tear apart a runaway enslaved man with dogs. Classically, Django has had more dealings ‘with Americans’. European, erudite Dr Schwartz is going to remember this event for time to come.
Like Schwartz, Django gives people a choice before striking and kills for a reason. Though we’ve seen that cruelty isn’t really him, as he’s haunted by soft romantic images of his long-lost wife, watching his doings and journey. Are people really only the money they’re saleable for or the talents they may have, such as speaking German? Django’s distractions suggest otherwise. Then there’s the existence of black people themselves within this system, in the punishments and expectations, who has access, who has literacy, the access to language, working in the house or working in the fields, whether you are a name or a number, and who has influence. We also see the endless unpaid for, exploited labour which creates these plush environments for these very few people, down to the intricate laying of supper tables.
Unexpectedly for Tarantino, this is about romance, the rescuing of a wife from a vile place, almost Arthurian romance with a knightly quest and an imprisoned woman surrounded by dragons who need dispatching. When Django appears, lit heroically in the doorway, his wife swoons. It’s sweetly old-fashioned and charming, despite the horrendous situation, and we all swoon too.
In true Western-style there’s a stake-out, and then some unexpected twists and turns as the rescue goes horribly wrong. Rather than a tearful female face and vulnerable body, we see Django’s horribly vulnerable body and some brutal treatment. Again, he uses his intelligence to outwit his captors, rescue his wife and revenge himself and Dr Schwartz.
Strangely at the end, Django is wearing Candie’s clothes, before blowing Candie Land (and most of those who dwell in it) sky high. Rather than finding the clothes appropriation creepy, given how recently she’s been brutalised by Candie, Django’s wife applauds almost girlishly — and off they ride happily into the sunset.
I found the character of Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson) the most complex — playing a stereotype in front of other white people, and yet behind the scenes, equal with Candie, almost a guiding father-figure, sat at ease with a drink, and astute to social and emotional nuances. Strangely, he’s benefitting from such an oppressive system, mimicking Candie’s status and mannerisms behind the scenes. You start to wonder who shaped whom in their image first. It is he who alerts Candie to the idea that there is more than meets the eye to their guests. We also see his heart-felt grief when Candie is murdered and he mobilises the search for Django.
Well-rounded, we have a range of Western tropes transformed within a systemic enslavement setting. Most of all, this is about dignity and friendship between Dr Schwartz and Django, and the love of husband and wife. Whilst I wish Django’s wife hadn’t had to be put in yet another terrifying situation, the reveal when Django recues her is epic! as is her relief that the shadowy man in the hat means her no harm. Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx make a tremendous cowboy buddy/bounty hunter combo and I’d have been quite happy to watch them gallop about in the landscape for hours. Dr Schwartz’s kindness and decency, and Django’s coolness make an intriguing character comparison, as is Django’s tender goodbye to his dead friend. Kerry Washington does what she can with the wife in distress role of Broomhilda “Hildi” von Shaft, but I wish she’d been given more to do than wait, be oppressed and cry, or be beautiful. Though at the same time, she gives us very real reactions to extreme situations of harm, and we get a sense of her courage in that she keeps trying to run away, despite punishment. Through her role, we remember just how vicious and abusive enslavement systems were to both men and women, to relationships and families. Even to names and the reason for them (or the inhumanity in casual name imposing). We really empathise with her when she’s put into Dr Schwartz’s bedroom, feeling the terror of the situation with her.
Leonardo DiCaprio plays the impossible part of Calvin Candie, a slave plantation owner and committed enslaver. We see how boyish he is with his ridiculous coconut drinks and love of Dumas, and also how heartless — wanting his money’s worth out of a reluctant exhausted enslaved fighter, and able to have a living person torn to death by dogs for wanting to run away from such a life. At the same time, he adores his sister, can be a generous host, and yet clearly relies on Stephen’s advice and guidance. Paradoxically he can be casually cruel, uncaring of the names enslaved people have, treating enslaved people like living museum pieces or bits of showroom furniture (such as the over-dinner display of Broomhilda’s back or his dangerous eugenical rant about ‘black’ and ‘white’ brains — and the inherent racial naturalness of slavery determined (he opines) by Phrenology, using the skull of a deceased enslaved person). Candie Land is anything but sweet, and yet, despite behaving monstrously in his Disney Kingdom gone wrong, he still demands a good mannerly hand shake to seal a deal. You can’t help but want to cheer Dr Schwartz’s reaction.
Blink and you’ll miss Bruce Dern, James Russo, Franco Nero and Don Johnson! Enthral too at the visual feast of Sharen Davis’s costumes, which give such a sense of period, character and classic Western. Bringing the jokes is a High Noon snowman!
Support my writing and future cultural adventures for the price of a cup of coffee at Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/susanadventuresinculture
