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Dylan Baker Mr. Newman English 101: Rhetoric 10 October 2013 Compare and Contrast: Django Unchained Reviews Quentin Tarantino, famous director of movies such as Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, is back again with his latest movie: Django Unchained. The cast of Django Unchained is filled with A-List actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, and Samuel L. Jackson. His film is an accurate portrayal of Antebellum America before the emancipation of slaves. The film is particularly bloody, as are all Tarantino films, and was acclaimed by most critics. David Thomson and Mick LaSalle both review Django Unchained, but disagree on the quality of the film. Although both David Thomson and Mick LaSalle praise the acting of Christopher Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson, they differ on the overall success of director Quentin Tarantinos modern interpretation of Django Unchained, and the strength of dialogue used in the film. Both David Thomson and Mick LaSalle, in their respective reviews, praise the acting of supporting actors Christopher Waltz, and Samuel L. Jackson. David Thomson, in his much more scathing review of Django, gives much praise to Christopher Waltz in his portrayal of Dr. King Schultz, a traveling dentist turned bounty hunter. Waltz came to fame in Tarantinos earlier movie Inglorious Bastards. Thomson describes Tarantinos relationship with Waltz as unique. Waltz is superb in the film, and Thomson gives much of the films success to the acting skills of Waltz. Mick LaSalle, in his review, also gives much praise to the skills of Waltz. LaSalle praises the character played by Waltz as, A character with a lot of depth and shadingsbrave, but not

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fearless; self-interested, but with a great conscience, someone who gets to grow (LaSalle). LaSalle ends by commenting that Waltz responds with another great performance after just finishing Inglorious Bastards. David Thomson, in his review, also praises the skills of Samuel L. Jackson. He describes Jacksons character as a role that brings some humor and light in to the film. Jackson portrays an old, crotchety house slave named Stephen. Thomson lavishes the acting of Jackson, calling it reminiscent to his skills shown in Pulp Fiction. Jacksons superb voice in the film, according to Thomson, contains a cross between Iago and Othello. Mick LaSalle also places special admiration on the skills of Jackson. He credits Jackson with bringing a lot of humor to the film because Jacksons character contrasts the roles Jackson typically plays. LaSalle thus warmly credits Jacksons wide range of acting and his overall success at portraying different spectrums of characters. Both Thomson and LaSalle praise the acting of Waltz and Jackson. Although Quentin Tarantinos modern interpretation of Django Unchained was critically acclaimed, Thomson and LaSalle both differed on whether the film was a success or not. Thomsons main critique of the film is the sheer amount of violence contained within the film. Although this is typical of a Tarantino film, Thomson still believes that it was way too much and distracts from the actual plot. He also believes that Tarantino made the film far too long. At times, Thomson says, the film slowed to a crawl. He claims the film is arrogant and does not do an adequate job of portraying the south during the pre-Civil war era. Mick LaSalle, on the other hand, loves the film and touts it as one of the years best. LaSalle starts off by saying, Django Unchained is the most consistently entertaining movie of 2012. It's 165 minutes long and shouldn't be a minute shorter, a film of surprises, both in story and in casting, and of moments of agonizing, teased-out tension (LaSalle). This statement completely contrasts Thomsons

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viewpoint of the film because it highlights the success of the violence and length of the film. LaSalle loves the western style of Django Unchained and the setting of the movie. He talks about this a lot during the review and attributes a lot of the films success to the setting and style of the film. In his view, Tarantino erases the Gone with the Wind, view of Antebellum Southern America and shows its true colors. Thomson ends his praise for the success of the film by stating that the violence was just enough for most viewers to not be offended, and enough for them to truly grasp the horror of pre-Civil War America. Another thing that David Thomson and Mick LaSalle seem to disagree on is the dialogue used in the film. Thomson characterizes the dialogue as drawling and boring, bringing an otherwise decent film to a standstill. He claims the length of the film could have been cut in half, but the actors in the film were able to keep it somewhat watchable. LaSalle, on the other hand, loved the dialogue used in Django Unchained and attributes much of the success to the dialogue created by Quentin Tarantino. He says that Tarantino creates wonderful, long-lasting scenes that captivate the audience in their eloquence and grandeur. The actors, LaSalle maintains, are able to carry the film with their spectacular performances. Thomson bashes the dialogue in order to give rationale on why he thought the film was bad, while LaSalle praises the dialogue to show why the film was so captivating. Although Django Unchained was a bit slow at some points, the film was still a wonderful modern interpretation of the South during 19th century America. Quentin Tarantino and the rest of the star-studded cast were able to bring the film to national prominence with each of their important roles in the making of the film. David Thomson and Mick LaSalle both use great points on why they liked, or disliked the film. They both agreed on the quality of acting in the

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film, but disagreed on the overall success of the film and the successful use of dialogue in the film. It is clear that Django Unchained deserved being praised as one of the best films of 2012.

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Works Cited LaSalle, Mick. "'Django Unchained' Review: Sweet Revenge." SFGate. Hearst Newspapers, 24 Dec. 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2013. Thomson, David. "The New Republic." New Republic. Chris Hughes, 5 Jan. 2013. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.