Quentin Tarantino has got a phenomenal grasp of how to hook you in to the films he creates and he’s called on all of his skill to do just that for the messed-up Western thriller, The Hateful Eight. Intense, funny, gripping and gruesome it’s a grim slice of the darker side of life in the cold winters of the cowboy state of Big Wyoming a little after the end of the American Civil War.
Story review
It’s essentially a microcosm dissection of the war itself, and warfare in general, as the lines start to be drawn and the reality of the plot begins to take shape. It uncoils with menace like a thick rope from a hangman’s kit bag. Deadly alliances, prisoners of war, racial tension, convenient lies and severe violence roil around in the small coach lodge stopover of Minnie’s Haberdashery and it makes compelling viewing from start to savage end.
The story is as relentless as the blizzard that surrounds it, trailing two bounty hunters who wind up arriving together at the coach stop to ride out the storm that was just about to overtake them. The first is John Ruth (Kurt Russell), A.K.A. “The Hangman” because he always brings his targets in alive, who is travelling to Red Rock, the next town over, with his bounty Daisy Domorgue (Jennifer Jason Leigh). As he and his stagecoach driver, O.B. Jackson, race to outrun the blizzard, they run into fellow bounty hunter, Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson), who flags them down for a lift having found himself stranded with his three dead bounties. Before they make it to Minnie’s they also pick up another stranded wanderer, Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins), who forces them to take him along by announcing himself as the future Sherriff of Red Rock.
However, things start to get even weirder when they get to Minnie’s where they find that Minnie is out and in her place is a Mexican called Bob, along with a band of travellers with their own bleak back stories to eek out. They’re made up of the hangman of Red Rock, Oswaldo Mowbray (Tim Roth), a cow puncher called Joe Gage (Michael Madsen) and Confederate General Sandford Smithers (Bruce Dern), but you can bet that not everything is as its laid out.
The opening sequences set the plot up brilliantly with stark shots of the wintery Wyoming mountain range as a backdrop with the incoming blizzard engulfing the horizon. As you watch it all unfold you know as much as the characters themselves that a healthy amount of mistrust is wise, but you’re as trapped in the pull of the situation as they are.
Cast performances
The cast is very strong throughout with stand-out performances from Jennifer Jason Lee (Kill Your Darlings), Channing Tatum (Hail, Caesar!) and Michael Madsen (Resevoir Dogs). Kirt Russell (Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 2) is genius as John Ruth, creating a vivid character, but with a subtle way of presenting his odd eccentricities, combining up well with Lee to create some of the best moments of the film. There’s even a little narration from writer and director, Quinten Tarantino, which helps to emphasise the production concept of The Hateful Eight, which is presented in scenes like a silent movie or play read through.
Samuel L. Jackson (Kingsman: The Secret Service) is like granite throughout the first of the film, but it all sort of starts to go south as he baits Smithers, continuing their conflict from the Civil War. He starts to unravel in a maniacal and vindictive mess, which starts to feel less and less like the character you start out with as the film goes on. However, we’re willing to bet that this is a conscious decision by Tarantino to show that in this small hub of war there are no good men, only factions with axes to grind.
DVD review
Though there’s a lot of comedy involved in the characterisation, setup, dialogue and body language, there’s even more serious intent and the two counter each other throughout the DVD. Just when you think things are light and jovial the frosty air is punctured by violence, bloodshed, menace and racial tension, mirroring the horrors of war with a fine edge of disgust.
Note: The Hateful Eight is now available to watch on Netflix, as well as on DVD.
When you watch a Quinten Tarantino film you enter a very specific fantasy world and that’s the case here, with little flecks of surrealism and a healthy amount of showmanship to provide a very clear indication that this is a clever and savage work of fancy designed to question, challenge and entertain in equal measure. The laws of physics are suspended too as if you were watching Superman and the lighting is crafted expertly to give you something that’s as real as it is unreal, making for a strong DVD to re-watch from a cinematography review perspective.
The Hateful Eight is another fascinating movie from Quinten Tarantino that will keep you locked on to its cold, grinning stare until it unpicks the very nature of conflict. Robert Richardson’s cinematography is genuinely incredible and it’s equaled by the epic, disquieting score composed by Ennio Morricone, which earned him a very well deserving Academy Award. It all combines to result in a powerful movie and though it descends a little towards the very end, it’s definitely up there as one of QT’s best inglorious eight.
The Hateful Eight DVD review: 4.3/5
It went on to be followed by Quentin Tarantino’s 9th film, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt and you can follow Sony Pictures on its official Twitter page at twitter.com/SonyPictures to see more.
