Quentin Tarantino is a master at it, at least for every little character a memorable moment admit. An idiosyncratic performance, a casual line of dialogue or a concise look: With Til Schweiger, two guitar riffs are enough and we know exactly what his Hugo Stiglitz is made of in Inglourious Basterds. In a split second, the character is anchored in pop culture memory.
It’s no wonder that when casting a new Tarantino film, even stars line up for small roles. Whoever makes it in front of the camera at Tarantino and doesn’t land on the editing room floor is guaranteed a moment that will last a lifetime. All the more amazing is that Tarantino failed to pull off that feat in his cameo in Django Unchained. He should have skipped that appearance altogether.
Tarantino has made many great cameos, but in Django Unchained he fails across the board
Tarantino is actually very familiar with cameos. The director, who occasionally travels as an actor, has already had a supporting role in Reservoir Dogs. Since then he has appeared in his own films from time to time. In Django Unchained he even has one double cameo: in the first half of the film as Ku Klux Klan supporter Robert aka Bag Head #1, in the second half as miner Frankie.
While the first cameo is barely noticeable, the second pulls you out of the movie completely. Not only does Tarantino spectacularly fail to convince his miner Australian accent admit. He also fails in his supreme discipline. Where Tarantino shows remarkable delicacy in the staging of all the other supporting characters, his Frankie bursts clumsily into the film.
Here’s a look at Tarantino’s cameo in Django Unchained:
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Frankie is one of a group of three men escorting a tied up Django (Jamie Foxx). With a ruse, the hero of the story manages to free himself from his unfortunate situation. The scene culminates in Frankie being shot and killed by Django blown to pieces with dynamite becomes. A spectacular finish, culminating in one of the film’s most laid-back musical moments.
Frankie and a Fistful of Dynamite: Why Quentin Tarantino’s cameo doesn’t fit in Django Unchained
Because as soon as Frankie disappears, Tarantino has the film under control again. The silhouette of the title character slowly emerges from the swirling sand. An iconic image. Tarantino knows exactly what he wants. The same cannot be said of his cameo. Despite the brevity the scene feels excruciatingly longbecause we can watch Frankie thinking every second – and not in a good way.
Every other character knows exactly what they are doing or have to do in this scene. Frankie, on the other hand, comes across as a cowboy male who was cast in the film and has no idea how it got there. Tarantino’s body language says it all: He’s thinking actively thinking about itthat he is now in front of the camera and acting. And it’s awkward to watch him do it.
Django Unchained would have had no problem works without this scene. The worst thing is: she takes the wind out of the sails of the film just before the explosive finale.
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