Review: The Hateful Eight

Walking out of The Hateful Eight I had to admit to myself that I was a little disappointed, I'm still figuring out the specifics why and I think I've figured something out by the main gist of my thoughts is that this is very unlike anything else Tarantino has done before, which isn't a bad thing itself, it's always good for a filmmaker to experiment more, but at the same time being so unlike anything else Tarantino has done can make this 3 Hour + film run on a little longer than is comfortable.

The film opens in the middle of a harsh Wyoming Winter a few years after the Civil War, a heavy blizzard is about to hit town and bounty hunter John 'The Hangman' Ruth is transporting murderer Daisy Domergue to Red Rock to hang but knows he won't make it and will have to stop off at Minnie's Haberdashery for a couple of days until the storm passes, along the way Ruth picks up fellow bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren, a former black soldier in the Union Army and Chris Mannix, son of a Confederate Rebel and now new Sheriff of Red Rock.

Upon arrival at Minnie's the group find that Minnie is out of town and the place is being run by Bob The Mexican, inside the place already has a number of guests with Red Rock hangman Oswald Mobrey, cow puncher Joe Gage and former Confederate General Sanford Smithers already hiding from the cold. As Ruth makes his intentions to bring Daisy to Red Rock and is willing to kill anyone who gets in his way, however Ruth's gut instincts tell him at least one of the guests is working with Domergue and plans to free her, as the cold kicks in and tensions are raised by mistrust and racial hatred, suddenly the eight start dropping in numbers.

As plots go it's good but not enough to warrant the three hour runtime, once everyone's inside the Haberdashery the film sets into motion the events that lead to the climax but being so situated in the one spot there's a very slow-burn to everything, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, there’s a good mystery at play here once certain events transpire and you’re wondering where loyalties lie. But it takes quite a good while to get to that point (past the intermission before it even really becomes part of the story) and it leaves the film feeling a little dragged out once the final act starts up.

Now Tarantino may have lessened the story to accommodate more for the characters, only problem there is that only half of the characters worked, Bob The Mexican had a few funny moments but not really much to do, Michael Madsen was surprisingly passive and quiet for Joe Gage which is fine as a turn away from the rest of the violent lot but it also meant he was sitting in the background for a lot of the film while Bruce Dern's Sanford was simultaneously despicable as the furious old racist southerner and sympathetic once he realises his own connection to Major Warren and their battle hardened ways. One standout from the lesser half was Tim Roth's Oswald, playing funny as the upper-class Englishman who tried to keep a level-head about things and his grasp of Tarantino's monologues had some merits, his attempts to broker peace between Mannix, Warren and Sanford kept things lighter during the film’s first half but even he got relegated to the sidelines after the intermission.

I suppose this is always the way, especially with ensemble pieces, you will get some characters better written than others and the other half of the eight are up there with some of Tarantino's best but he's done ensemble pieces before and better the only difference is Tarantino allowed himself more freedom within the story to work on the character, here being stuck in the Haberdashery there's less chance to experiment with the characters and put them into different situations, which is probably why the other four work better because we got to see them before their arrival.

Kurt 'Holy Moustache' Russell plays John Ruth, a bounty hunter infamous for taking in his prisoners alive and watching them hang. Ruth has obviously been on the road a good while with Daisy and has had enough of taking her shit, resulting in some quite violent reactions, this is a man who does not give a fuck unless someone or something is in his way, and when that happens Ruth is already two steps and one bullet ahead. Russell owns this role, seething with anger and command, directing everyone inside the Haberdashery to do exactly what he says, when he says it and is not afraid to put someone in their place if they disagree with him, he’s a mean bastard of a character, and sadly the closest thing in the film to a hero.

Jennifer Jason Lee (who ever expected her to be in a Tarantino flick) is great as Daisy Domergue, she's clearly having fun playing this fun but horrid criminal who has ran out of shits to give and just wanted to fuck with as many people as possible before she died. Leigh deserves credit for a few reasons, firstly for not half-assing it with the character, Daisy is a rude, bigoted, foul-mouthed and despicable creature who is more than happy to cheat her way out of any situation she can and Leigh manages to get that across really well, you kinda hate the character but Leigh is having so much fun you can still enjoy her performance. Secondly for putting up with the amount of abuse she does, not going into it too deep but some of the stuff that Daisy goes through is insane and a little mean-spirited but it's quite funny to watch at times, in its shock value way.

Walter Goggins proves to be a surprise hit as Chris Mannix, the son of a Confederate Rebel, Mannix is a difficult one to judge because you can't immediately tell if he's telling the truth or not and his ability to switch between smartest man in the room and dumbest man in the room makes the decision even more challenging. Goggins is great in the role, especially in the final act when you can't tell what way he's going but he leaves you interested in what he's doing. Mannix is one of the more grey characters because of his mixture of inherent racism and clever thinking, he’s loyal to the dying cause of the South but he’s quick-witted enough, and charismatic enough that you find yourself drawn to him anyway.

Rounding out the cast is Samuel L. Jackson as Major Marquis Warren, former Union Soldier turned bounty hunter who has more than his fair share of troubles from both The North & The South following the end of the war. Warren ends up being the film's ace in the hole after the intermission because Jackson is allowed to let loose with a character you're never entirely sure if you like or not, for as smart and as ruthless as Warren is he's also an incredible liar and a little sick in the head if his confession to Sanford has any truth to it. The rivalry he has with Mannix throughout the film added more flavour to both their characters due to their dark pasts and ambiguious nature towards their fellow man, but where Mannix talked alot to make it seem like he was the smartest man in the room, Warren’s silence proved he WAS the smartest man in the room, he held the cards close to his chest for most of the film but once he starts taking control of everything you begin to see just how clever he was for doing so. This is probably Jackson's best role since Pulp Fiction and one that relishes him playing the part, he’s not a good person by any means but in this world of killers, liars and hangmen, he stands above them all.

Now I said earlier that this is unlike anything else Tarantino has done before and I stick by that to an extent, in a lot of ways this is almost like a more professional version of Reservoir Dogs given the limited locations and handful of characters. Aside from that though this does feel the least like a Tarantino film that I can remember, from the opening shots of a barren, frozen over Wyoming with the Ennio Morricone soundtrack beating on the soundtrack you could almost be forgiven for thinking you were watching a Sergio Leone film. The slower, more central pacing is really what sets this apart from his other flicks, I wouldn't call it a slow-burn because the film does go by a lot faster than you'll initially realise but it is a long film and at time you can see the film pushing itself a little harder than necessary, this is a VERY dialogue heavy film and credit where its due, the dialogue is solid, that's never been Tarantino's problem and the conversations about Civil War Histories, racial prejudices, and the nature of liars, murderers and criminals all work together to paint a very violent world as seen from inside this one Haberdashery.

The problem with the film is the amount of dialogue, now like I said I'm fine with Tarantino moving away from what's expected of him and not going for an immediately ultra-violent orchestra, there are some very violent scenes in the film but comparatively it's tamer than expected from Tarantino. Thing is though, there is a lot of talking in this film and since it's saving it's big reveals until the final act a lot of the dialogue seems to go round in circles, drawing itself out until the right time to actual make the reveal, it's not a huge problem but once you realise it, it does eat away at you. And when it’s not dragging itself out, it’s mean, truly, uncomfortably mean, this might actually be the darkest film Tarantino has ever written just by tone alone, racism is thrown about with proper venom, Daisy is abused from every direction but no sympathy is ever given to her since she’s a racist killer herself, everyone is looking out for themselves and not afraid to kill to put themselves ahead. I know the film is called Hateful Eight so I shouldn’t look for anyone likeable but EVERYONE in the film is cold and cruel, it gets to the point that even the few that you can root for are absolute bastard but just less of a bastard than the other bastards around them and it sullies the film slightly, trying to find any piece of enjoyment out of it.

Of course none of this takes away from Tarantino's work as a director and when the film works it really works, the aforementioned Jackson monologue is punctuated by a hammering piano score of Silent Night to add to the growing tension of the whole thing, a great flashback sequence is one of the most intense scenes Tarantino has made even with knowing the outcome it's still drawn out enough to put you on a knife edge and the entire last chapter is an exercise in lying, double-crossing and cheating with everyone playing everyone in an attempt to come out on top. The film has its moments of humour but where it works best is when it edges towards the dance of death before actually pulling the trigger, it's arguably Tarantino's most intense work to date and showcases a maturity to the director that could signal a new style from him.

I've thought about it for a while and I think my biggest issue with The Hateful Eight is that Tarantino sacrificed a more elaborate storyline to make an ensemble character piece only for half the character to feel underwritten, it's a good film and very well-made but it doesn't earn its three hour length, the story is simple but overly so, Russell, Leigh, Goggins and Jackson deliver great performances as a quartet of violent, untrustworthy killers but the other half of the eight don't live up to them and while Tarantino shows a maturity and an intensity in his direction he does feel like he's overwritten this film at times. Recommended viewing but lowered expectations.

7.5/10