My Cultural Diet

Quentin Tarantino’s sprawling anti-slavery epic is perhaps a bit too, well, sprawling for its own good, especially as it enters its final act. And yet, I don’t really blame Tarantino for wanting to spend as much time as possible with characters like Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), Django Freeman (Jamie Foxx), and even the despicable Calvin J. Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). All three men deliver bravura performances in their own way. The relationship between Schultz and Django is really delightful — I’ll never think of the phrase “auf wiedersehen” the same way after seeing this movie — but DiCaprio steals every scene he’s in as the “evil ass enslaver” (to use Roy Wood Jr.‘s phrase) who hides his depravity behind good manners, genteel speech, and Southern hospitality. As a result, the film’s final shootouts are particularly cathartic, not to mention a real treat for those of us who enjoy seeing lots of blood squibs put to good use.

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