Django Unchained: Scene Breakdown

[Music] you're watching script tease in today's episode we'll be breaking down a few scenes from Django Unchained you can expect mature themes and spoilers for the whole film as much as I like to get all flowery and chat about characters and themes when I first sit down to watch a movie my interest is usually far more surface level it's about the plot the logical sequence of events for me if the plot doesn't make sense than the film falls apart even more esoteric works like the filmography of David Lynch still have an internal logic Mulholland Drive is a trippy dream for half its runtime but each step inside the dream still has a rational connection to the one that preceded it of course just making sense is the bare minimum an audience should expect of a film a great plot keeps you on tenterhooks through tension conflict and surprise of these three elements surprises often mistreated simply subverting expectations earng Game of Thrones does not make for an enjoyable surprise surprising the audience is a balancing act on one hand you don't want the audience to see the surprise coming but on the other hand after the initial shock of the surprise you want the audience to realize that it was foreshadowed the whole time now I could go on and on about what makes a great surprise in a film seriously if you have a free hour send me a DM but for today let's just focus on how to foreshadow a turn in your story Django Unchained has a fantastic turn at the end of the second act which completely shifts the direction of the plot the deaths of dr. Schultz and Calvin Candie Quentin Tarantino sets up candy is the main antagonist holding Django's loved broom-hilda captive as a slave therefore the audience expects the climax of the film to be some form of showdown between Django and candy with broom-hilda serving as the stakes character instead candy is killed off by Django's mentor dr. Schultz but before I can properly defend this turn let's track all of the events that got us to this point focusing primarily on Schultz as motivation behind killing candy at the beginning of the film Schultz purchases Django rather forcibly and enlists his help in event potential bounty the brittle brothers to this end Schultz gives Django or rudimentary course in bounty hunting and Django has then put through his paces for the entirety of the first act Django is a tool to Schultz this is best put by Schultz himself in his first proper conversation with Django on one hand I despise slavery on the other hand I need your help and if you're not in a position to refuse all the better it's like he knows that slavery is wrong philosophically but has never learned that lesson from experience his indifference is best demonstrated in his casual comparison of slavery and bounty hunting well the way the slave trade deals in human lives to cash a bounty hunter deals in corpses during the hunt for the brutal brothers Schultz plays the mentor role - Django in every scene he teaches him how to shoot and claim bounties but most importantly he teaches him how to deceive Django you have to it's part of the Act you're playing a character remember what I told you during the Act you can never break character the pretense of this section of the film is that Django is learning to become a bounty hunter and throw off the shackles of slavery however the underlying parallel story shows Django teaching Schultz about humanity through his love of grimhilde in the campfire scene Schultz tells Django the story of Siegfried he walks through hell fire because broom-hilda is worth it and after a thought-provoking pause indicated by the ellipsis and explicit acknowledgment of the fact by Tarantino they have this bonding Norman I know how he feels I think I'm just starting to realize that Schulz is captivated by Django's courage by the romantic ideal of a gallant hero saving his true love in all the sweet-talking and soft soaping Schulz never talks about his emotions it's not that he isn't clever enough or skilled enough he just never had the right motivation but through Django he learns what passion is I've never given anybody their freedom before when a German meets a real-life Siegfried it's kind of a big deal from this point onward Schulz is emotionally invested in Django is uprising in Greeneville Schulz is confronted with the appalling reality of slavery dr. Schultz takes in this African flesh market way human beings sell other human beings with disgust and a little bit of shock it's one thing to hear about a tragedy or injustice but quite another thing to experience it firsthand perhaps sadder still is when your life is so filled with torment they become desensitized to it as is the case with Django throughout this second act will say this truckster position between the two bounty hunters reactions were painted again and again a face is now put on the twisted morals of slavery Calvin Candie candy is rotten to the core he is cruel conceited and completely fake in the final film we first met candy as he watched as a man dingo fight two slaves fighting to the death and the script were actually introduced to candy earlier we see him cheat to acquire broom-hilda as a wager in a poker game from her previous owner he then barges into our room and chases her naked through the hotel with his belt sir before Django and Schultz actually meet candy we the readers already know that he is a cheater a liar and an abuser for Django and Schulz however they know only by reputation that candy is deplorable but they're about to learn it for themselves the Cleopatra Club is a facade of multicultural influence that implies its owner as well red and well-traveled Candy's lawyer Mogi tells Django and Schultz that candy as a Francophile yeah when Schultz speaks French Mergui stops him oh he doesn't speak French don't speak French to him it'll embarrass him candy is obsessed with his image to the point of falsifying it to appear more cultured he backs up this initial impression by rudely addressing Schultz keeping his back to the door and asking abrupt and aggressive questions without first exchanging introductions of course disregard for social etiquette is the least a polling of Candy's traits Candide cheers on his slave to brutally kill another slave when the deed is done candy casually sends off the dead man and asked for his associate to pay up that puny bet amia Tendo is riding on the slaves life that's certainly a couple hundred dollars by today's estimate while candy is thrilled by bloodsport Schulz attempts to hide is discussed Schultz's schooled Django on the importance of never breaking character while now the good doctor must practice what he preaches this is a preliminary trial a sign of things to come once more it brings the brutal reality of slavery to Schultz's fait econ ignoring this scene sets a template for the conflict between our bounty-hunting doer and candy as Django and Schultz moving convoy to Candyland the name of which is yet another sign of Candy's hyper inflated ego they come across a slave surrounded by tracking guns the slave d'Artagnan is a runaway mandingo fighter after seeing the torment that mandingo is afoot through both the reader and Schultz easily sympathized with darkanian's attempt to escape we get a lengthy description of d'Artagnan to stick him in our mind one look at d'Artagnan tells you that he's a mandingo has been in one fight too many d'Artagnan has been truly beaten down yet candy give him no mercy when d'Artagnan pleads that he can't fight anymore candy responds oh yes you can you might not be able to win but you're asking fun and yet still Candy's moral sink even lower he toys with d'Artagnan no no no beggin no playing on my soft heart no only is he callous his sadistic to as with the initial mandingo fighting scene Schultz is completely out of his element and struggles to keep up his facade this whole spectacle is making dr. Schultz sick to his stomach in an attempt to save d'Artagnan Schultz drops the charade much to the surprise of the other white people I'll reimburse you all eyes turned to dr. Schultz Kovan candy used the occasion to perform a slow dramatic turn in the direction of the good German Tarantino's exaggeration of this moment lets the reader know just how much Schultz has really messed up dr. Schultz realizes that he's just on the one thing that he's always preached Django you can never do break character luckily Django steps in to cover Schultz and insist that they will not pay for d'Artagnan even as the dogs ripped our tannin apart Django is able to hold his nerve because he's used to saying the horrors inflicted by men like jiangha who expected nothing less and has seen worse doesn't blink as the runaway slave is torn to bits by canine teeth Schultz on the other hand suffers through d'Artagnan screams dr. Schultz has never seen a man torn apart by dogs before and he appears not to enjoy it this scene escalates the feelings established in the mandingo scene with Schultz growing increasingly uncomfortable with Candy's torturous treatment of his slaves Schultz's persona has now been demonstrated to be fallible given the right pressure it can break at Candyland the group has dinner while discussing the purchase of a mandingo fighter of course Django and Schulz are also trying to buy perm Hilda her freedom to do so they must sit through a tiresome self-aggrandizing delusions of candy and curb just imagine having to smile through an evening of the person you hate most in the world prattle on about how smart they are someone who says things like no one appreciates the value of showmanship more than Monsur Kelvin J candy and allow the old sage to advise meanwhile the gathered sycophants laugh at their every joy boosting their ego even further perhaps the only thing that could keep you going as you pretend a lot along is the thought that by the end of this you'll have pulled one over on them and so you endure with that goal in mind even flattering the person that you truly despise you don't want sir candy you do possess the power of persuasion shulton Django are put in that position but Highland to the nth degree the duo must watch honest candy exploits burn Hilda scars for entertainment I'm sure would fascinate him and [ __ ] endurance for pain Schultz is disgusted by the side but still he and Django and Europe unfortunately shortly thereafter Candy's right-hand man Stephen figures out the bounty hunters employed and employs candy candy outraged calls the mound and demands that they pay an exorbitant price for broom-hilda at gunpoint the duo is forced to pay up Django and Schulz react very differently to this turn of events Django while disappointed has finally been reunited with broom-hilda his journey is complete and the signing of broomhilda's bill of sale is Malea for melody Schultz on the other hand has had his victory snatched from him dr. Schultz it's off by himself he's very disturbed he was supposed to have hoodwinked candy this was meant to be his moment of silent retribution instead it seems that evil has won Candy's wrongdoings will go unpunished Tarantino skillfully places moments through the story that demonstrates Schultz is growing disgust for candy and the practice of slavery while the reader has primarily followed Django struggle Tarantino subtly built up shelters ark in parallel these moments finally pay off in this scene the heroes low point in the film we're reminded of Schultz's disgust with flashbacks of d'Artagnan death when candy boasts about his victory Schultz can't help but take a sabot in revealing him as a fake you brooding about me getting the best of you huh actually I was thinking of that poor devil you fed to the dogs today if Alexander Dumas had been there today I wonder what he would have made of it you doubt he'd approve yes soft-hearted Frenchie an example de maiz black Schultz's pulp shot gets on the candy skin exposing him as having absolutely no idea about the literature he claims to understand in the film this irony is made even clearer by having Schulz stare at Candy's many bookshelves the implication here is of course that candy has probably never read many of these books Schulz then moves to make an exit with one last parting shot mr. candy normally I would say auf wiedersehen but since what a vita zine actually means is till I see you again and since I never wish to see you again to you sir I say good now the two men's egos have taken center stage candy desperate for Schulz not to have the last word calls him back candy insists that Schulz shakes his hand it implies good faith in this action candy is asking Schultz to show him respect a lot of people don't understand this moment they feel like if Schulz has come this far then he should just shake Candy's hand and be done with it hopefully by now you realize how difficult of a task this is for someone like Schulz he refuses to show respect to candy because he truly loathes him to shake his hand even after the ruses up would be like bowing to a sadistic murderer in honors so Schulz refuses and candy closes the gap insisting it's almost childish that amidst the horror and brutality of the slaves treatment these two white men are concerned with their egos I think you are a bad loser and I think you're an abysmal winner and yet childish don't maybe the audience is completely on Schultz's side there's that voice inside us that once candy to get his comeuppance to pay for what he's done what he'll keep doing and Tarantino feeds off this desire by building tension pitting Schultz and candy against one another then we get this line Schultz looks to Jagger then to candy and then with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye asked candy you really want me to shake your hand from this point on the attentive radar gets excited thinking is he really undo it no way with a series of single lines and ellipses Tarantino builds hype for the moment and then Paul Schultz takes candy out giving a simple explanation before getting blasted to pieces I'm sorry I couldn't resist and in essence he's right he knew it wasn't the right thing to do he knew the ramifications for himself Django and broom-hilda but the pure pleasure of best ink and II was just too tempting films are so often about wish fulfillment and Django Unchained certainly fits into that category when looking at Schultz's arc throughout the story it makes complete sense that he is the one to clash with candy to Jenga candy is just another slaver he seen them all his life and my constantly reminded the terrible acts he carries out and nothing new to Django fish Schultz however candy is the first flavor whose actions have confronted him to this extreme add on top of this Candy's transparent veneer of culture and egregious self involvement and he becomes a truly detestable foil to Schultz so certainly the turn is foreshadowed and the turn is appropriate to the characters involved but there is one more key reason that this joke works the fallout since we expected candy to be Django antagonist when he is removed there must be someone whom Django can have his retribution against in the third act Tarantino sets up Stephen as this antagonist Stephen is one of the few characters who can match Candy's moral depravity while candy carries out in justices on slaves Stephen who is black himself watches on more than that he supports candy he's Candy's right-hand man his confidant Stephen represents the black men who rather than fight for equality except their circumstances and perpetuate the cycle of slavery as such even though candy is removed Stephen takes his place furthermore the turn thrusts Django into more peril rather than saving him from Dane compare this to a scene where the hero is saved by something got an accomplice at the last second in this case this price saves the hero and cheapens the story feeling like deus ex machina in Django Unchained however Schultz's actions result in Django being captured by his enemies rather than riding off with his wife this turn at the end of the second act of Django Unchained is successful for three key reasons it's subtly foreshadowed by earlier scenes it fits the motivations and personalities that the characters involved and it still leaves enough drama for the third act when crafting sudden turns in your own stories ask yourself if you're just going for shock value or whether the turn actually enriches your plot good writing and good luck [Music]

Channel: Scriptease

Views: 6,187

Keywords: Script, Screenwriting, Analysis, Writing, Film, Movies, TV, Video Essay, Tutorial, Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino, Scene Breakdown

Id: AYvv8tNhdPA

Length: 17min 48sec (1068 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 21 2019