The Hateful Eight

Released: December 2015

Director/Writer: Quentin Tarantino

Rated R

Run Time: 3 Hour, 7 minutes

Distributor: Anchor Bay

Music: Ennio Morricone

Cast:
Samuel L. Jackson: Major Marquis Warren
Kurt Russell: John “The Hangman” Ruth
Jennifer Jason Leigh: Daisy Domergue
Walton Goggins: Sheriff Chris Mannix
Demian Bichir: Bob
Tim Roth: Oswaldo Mobray
Michael Madsen: Joe Gage
Bruce Dern: General Sandy Smithers
James Parks: O.B.

There are many people who say that the Western is a dying genre in the film world.  They say that there’s nothing more to be said about the Old West, that the stories have run dry, and there’s nothing new to be gleamed from that particular genre.  My humble opinion?  Bullshit.  Yeah, the Western has peaks and valleys just like any other genre, but it will be a good long while before the genre dries up completely.  We’ve seen a number of new movies in the genre in the past 16 years that include films like Seraphim Falls, Appaloosa, the 3:10 to Yuma re-make, Bone Tomahawk, Django Unchained, The Salvation and most recently, The Hateful Eight.  The influence of the Western has gone beyond the borders of the United States.  You can see it’s influence in the Far East with films like Akira Kurusawa’s The Seven Samurai, which itself influenced a great deal of modern movies.  The Western has permeated many of the other genres, but it still remains one of the finest forms of storytelling in film.  I mean, I get it, you’re not going to get a whole lot of Westerns these days, because movies like that take time to really get right.  I’ve seen some bad ones, let me tell ya.  With up-and-coming directors like S. Craig Zahler, who directed the amazing Bone Tomahawk, there is hope that the genre will continue so long as the audience gets out to see them.  I’m one of those people who really loves the genre.  Now, with Quentin Tarantino having directed TWO Westerns, I’m very curious as to where the genre goes next.  For now, let’s examine Tarantino’s latest film, The Hateful Eight.

The story of The Hateful Eight begins with a carriage carrying a bounty hunter, John Ruth, and his prisoner, Daisy Domergue, that’s on its way to Red Rock so the prisoner can be hanged.  On the way, The carriage picks up two stranded travelers: Former Union Army officer Major Marquis Warren and Sheriff Chris Mannix.  With a harsh blizzard on their tail, these strangers stop at an inn of sorts out in the middle of nowhere.  Within the structure we have an additional four people waiting out the storm.  However, when John Ruth brings his prisoner inside the building, we realize that not everybody is who they say they are.  To delve any further into the story would spoil the twists and turns that the story takes.  It’s extraordinary.  This is a bit of a detective story of sorts set inside a Western.  We see a number of characters that have their own agenda, and we generally don’t trust them.  Everyone has a purpose for being here.  As I said, there are twists and turns here that will keep you guessing until the end.  It’s unpredictable in a very good way, and Quentin Tarantino really does a good job with ratcheting up the tension, despite the majority of the film taking place in one room.

Now, one would think that having the majority of a 3-hour film take place inside a room would be boring, right?  Oh, no, no, no.  The characters in the film are astounding, each with their own unique personality and motives.  The tension starts when you place Warren, who is black into the same room as a Confederate general, and you are instantly going to have some tension.  With all these different character types thrown into the mix together, which includes a female prisoner, there’s a storm brewing, so to speak.  In a lesser director’s hands, this really could have been botched all together, but because of Quentin Tarantino’s unique way of writing characters, story and dialogue, there’s not a scene or character in the film that seems out of place.  That’s also due to the fact that we have an amazing ensemble cast.  Kurt Russell, who is known for playing Wyatt Earp in Tombstone, returns to the genre which really gave him a boost.  The genre fits him like a glove.  It’s like he’s born to be in Westerns.  Samuel L. Jackson plays Warren as only Sam Jackson could.  He plays a very different character than he did in Django Unchained, but he nearly steals the show.  Walton Goggins has to be commended for playing the racist Sheriff of Red Rock, but we learn that there’s more to him than we think.  Special mention has to go to Jennifer Jason Leigh, who plays Daisy.  Like Jackson, Leigh almost steals the show.  In fact, nearly every actor in here is phenomenal.  Again, the credit has to go to Quentin Tarantino for being able to bring these actors together.  Not many directors can really claim that, at least not as consistently as Tarantino.

When you go into a Quentin Tarantino movie, you are in for a very unique experience.  Why?  Because Tarantino is a one-of-a-kind film-maker.  There aren’t a whole lot of directors out there that know film-making the way Tarantino does, which is why each film he makes is visually very interesting.  He doesn’t do digital film-making.  No, he’s kind of old-fashioned in that he prefers using actual film to make his movies.  When a films a movie using 65mm cameras, you can see the detail and a very distinct look throughout the movie.  The wide environment shots that he shoots are something that you just don’t see in a movie that’s filmed digitally.  On top of that, he stages his shots carefully, methodically and without the “shaky-cam” technique that’s plaguing the film industry right now.  The other thing you have to realize about Mr. Tarantino is the way he writes.  The characters he writes are unique, flawed, and fairly over-the-top, but in a good way.  The dialogue that is spoken is something to behold.  Mr. Tarantino has made writing dialogue an art form.  NOBODY writes a movie the way Tarantino does.  Yeah, he draws his inspiration from older movies, but he gives it his own unique flair that is often imitated but never duplicated.  When you watch a Quentin Tarantino movie, you’re getting the real deal.

Now, there are people out who have complained about Tarantino’s use of violence in his movies.  His movies are often very bloody, sometimes really gory, but they are definitely visceral and unforgettable.  Here’s the thing about that, though.  It’s all very over-the-top.  It’s not realistic.  The amount of blood that flows from these characters is almost comical, but it’s deliberate.  Mr. Tarantino uses his story to drive the violence, as one should.  But there have been complaints about there not being enough action in The Hateful Eight.  It’s funny, you look at one of his previous films, Inglorious Basterds, it’s not really action-packed.  It wasn’t meant to be.  When the violence hits, it does hit hard.  The complaints about violence in Tarantino’s movies are just mind-numbingly dumb.  It’s a Quentin Tarantino movie, you have to expect it.  He’s not going to tone down the violence because it hurts your feelings.  In fact, he’s just going to do the opposite, because that’s the way he is.  Back to The Hateful Eight:  The action, when it does show up is pretty brutal, but when you’re dealing with a number of armed bounty hunters and retired generals and various people, it’s going to get messy.  Truth be told, while I enjoyed the action, it was the dialogue that really had me engaged in the film.  There’s just something about a Quentin Tarantino film that’s just captivating.

The music is done by the legendary Ennio Morricone, who is known for his work on movies like The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, as well as movies like John Carpenter’s The Thing.  As a matter of fact, Quentin Tarantino actually uses some of the music used in The Thing to an interesting effect.  Morricone’s work is almost unrivaled as a film composer with over 500 credits to his name.  There’s not that many composers out there with THAT kind of a resume.

Overall, I was very impressed with The Hateful Eight.  It had a very interesting story that took some really interesting turns, and had some of the most visceral shoot-outs I’ve seen in a long time.  But what really made the movie for me, as it has with nearly every movie that Mr. Tarantino has made, was the way the film was written.  It’s an extraordinary experience watching a Tarantino film.  I’ve seen nearly every movie that Quentin Tarantino has directed, and he hasn’t really made a bad one yet, in my opinion.  I think The Hateful Eight does run a little too long, but then again, that’s not necessarily a detriment to the kind of film that Mr. Tarantino wanted to make.  My final score for The Hateful Eight is an outstanding 9.5/10.  I love this movie.  It’s one of the most interesting Westerns that I’ve seen in years.  If you’re a fan of the director, this film is a must-see.

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