BEAUTY, BLOOD, AND BOUNTY HUNTERS

Rating: 9/10 (1 June 2018)

The Hateful Eight (2015)
Ty Barron
The Hateful Eight is a western cinematographic masterpiece not for the faint of heart. Quentin Tarantino has been a polarizing presence in the film industry since hitting the scene with his first big movie, Reservoir Dogs, in 1992. Since then, he has solo directed and released nine movies each as polarizing as the next, and along the way has carved his own style into the world of film. Tarantino's most recent release, The Hateful Eight, is two hours and forty-seven minutes full of intricate interwoven plots with many moving pieces, a good deal of humor, and of course in classic Tarantino fashion, an abundance of violence.
The film's cast stars familiar faces with pieces of Tarantino's trademark ensemble cast including Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Michael Madsen, and Bruce Dern. It also includes marvelous performances from younger actress Jennifer Jason Leigh and actor Channing Tatum who play sister and brother. The entirety of the movie takes place during a blizzard in Wyoming a few years after the Civil War, mainly in a haberdashery where eight strangers stay the night waiting for the storm to pass. Kurt Russell plays John The Hangman Ruth, a bounty hunter taking the prized murderer, Daisy Domergue played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, to Red Rock Wyoming on the other side of the mountain during the blizzard when they come across Samuel L. Jackson's character, Major Marquis Warren, coincidentally another bounty hunter, stranded in the storm. A little ways later the group comes across the self proclaimed new sheriff of Red Rock Chris Mannix, played by Walton Goggins, stuck in the storm as well. Including the stagecoach driver, the four seek shelter in the haberdashery where four other men already reside. Each character has a mysterious story and they soon learn that things may not be quite as they appear.
Many people will criticize the movie for having only one true female character. The treatment of the character Daisy Domergue in the movie does not help as she is constantly bloodied and literally chained to Kurt Russell's wrist, perhaps Tarantino is hinting at something larger here with the handcuffs as well. However, she is the true fire of the plot as everything that happens in the film revolves around her. Tarantino has received backlash in the past for sexist characters however in movies such as Kill Bill: Volume 1, Kill Bill: Volume 2, and now The Hateful Eight, he has shown that female characters are the equivalent to the male characters in his movies as their roles are important lead ones that could really be played by a man or a woman and there would be no difference in the overall movie. Additionally, the gender of Daisy is never even explicitly brought up or explored as her role in the grand scheme of things is so much larger.
The writing of the film is exquisite as Samuel L. Jackson's Major Marquis Warren bares strikingly similar personality traits to his character Jules Winnfield from Pulp Fiction. It is almost as if Jules Winnfield hopped in a time machine and was transported to the years following the civil war with the identity of Major Warren. Just like in Pulp Fiction, Jackson's character is quick-witted, cunning, and a definite sharp shooter. Those who are fans of Tarantino's work in Pulp Fiction will most certainly find themselves quickly in love with the character of Major Marquis Warren. Furthermore there were rumors that Tarantino originally wanted The Hateful Eight to be a sequel to Django Unchained which certainly would have been intriguing, however he realized that it would not work. This may have been for the better though because if that was the case then the entire audience would have been missing Samuel L. Jackson's magnificent performance which is the pure magic of the movie and it is as if he was born to play this role.
What really makes the movie is the location and setting. The constant blizzard and the warm haberdashery in the middle of nowhere provides a highly unique cozy, yet mysterious feel. The true genius of the film is the fact that it takes place all in one room, with primarily only eight characters. With flashbacks, there is a total count of sixteen character appearances in the film but mostly, as the title implies, there are only eight real characters. The single location and few characters make the movie feel more like a magnificent stage play in all the right ways. The isolation allows the audience to become lost in the film and get sucked into feeling that they are right there in the haberdashery themselves. The elongated dialogue between characters helps to facilitate this feeling as each word is skillfully written to each character and captivates the audience dying to hear what is coming next.
At the end of the day this is still a Tarantino movie, and a phenomenal one at that. The pure visual aspect of the film is unparalleled and out of this world. From the majestic horses in the thick, bright, white snow storm to the blood splattered lodge, everything is done in artistic perfection. The opening scene is a beautiful wide angle pan shot of the vast mountainous area of Wyoming and then transitions to a close up shot that zooms out on a statue of Jesus Christ on the Cross, covered in snow in the middle of the frozen tundra. The juxtaposition of the gorgeous landscape with the statue of a frozen Christ is an excellent demonstration of Tarantino's unique approach to film as he constantly places something stunning and divine next to something more ominous and darker, allowing the later to be projected in a light equal to the beauty of its counterpart. While at times it can be a bloody mess, it is a beautiful mess. The inordinance of violence and blood is expected when walking into a Quentin Tarantino directed movie. The borderline gore adds to the masterful cinematographic work of the film and makes it an art piece all on its own.
The plot is sophisticated, the violence is over the top, and the characters are wicked. The movie is everything an audience member wants. So far from reality, yet so dangerously close at the same time. Full of bounty hunters, hangmen, cowboys, union and confederate soldiers, gang members the film has everything that excites and sends shocking chills up the spine while keeping the viewer on their toes for its entirety.
Rating: 9