Classic Tarentino, uncompromising yet brilliant

Rating: 8/10 (25 January 2016)

Tarentino continued on the 19th century theme from Django, albeit a different setting and theme, it didn't disappoint.
The film focuses around eight characters stuck up in a stagecoach lodge during a Blizzard. The characters are all different, yet given the racial tensions, and the dust of the civil war having just settled, Tarentino utilises key historical events as the backbone of the conflict.
It's the initial exchanges between "The Bounty Hunter" (SLJ), "The Hangman" Russell, and the quite exceptional Jennifer Jason Leigh as "The Prisoner" that sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Jackson's character tells Russell's he's penpals with Abraham Lincoln, much like if one said they were facebook friends with Obama, you'd probably offer them a ride on your stagecoach. But this is a different era, and the setting is perfectly isolated enough for each character to be truly vulnerable. Everyone has a story, and given the moral ambiguity surrounding each one, the audience and characters alike can't quite tell who's telling the truth.
The film is predominantly focused around the dialogue, with the relationships between the characters constantly changing as they are confined in such tight spaces. There isn't a protagonist, only eight villains. And with eight villains, comes the infamous violence and murdering, which, of course you'd probably have come to expect by now.The suspense is maintained throughout and Tarentino's character development is unparalleled by any other director or writer.
It's probably a bit too long, yet it's still of incredible quality. There's a touch of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction also, which bodes well with the cult following Tarentino has created. And as Tarentino often does, he stayed true to his following, as well as himself.