The Hateful Eight (2015)

Rating: 10/10 (1 January 2016)

As soon as the opening credits began on Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight," I knew I was in for a unique cinematic experience. The credits themselves appear old-fashioned and the great Ennio Morricone's score is playing as they roll, the expansiveness and desolation of the snowy area is shown, and then all of a sudden, Samuel L. Jackson appears on screen, "Got room for one more?" He asks the stagecoach driver as he sits in the middle of the path covered in snow. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.
"The Hateful Eight" stars a lot of Tarantino alum including the aforementioned Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tim Roth, Kurt Russell, and a slew of others and is directed by the always interesting Quentin Tarantino. It centers around a group of people being stuck in a haberdashery in the middle of a blizzard in Wyoming, and when things go awry, suspicion grows and the whole thing turns into a version of "Clue" that few would expect to see coming. Much like Tarantino's other films, "The Hateful Eight" cherry picks items from movies past and uses them in his own unique ways, to everyone's benefit. Albeit this time, an original score was composed, not a foul move. Morricone's score was his first western score in some forty years, and it is a truly memorable one at that, one that surely matches the shifty-eyed characters and fits the suspicion element all too well.
While Tarantino himself usually takes the spotlight from his actors with his dialogue and signature direction style, and sure this one may be no different, this time he has some hefty competition for the spotlight of this movie with one Mr. Samuel L. Jackson. As a movie fan, I've seen a lot of Jackson in my lifetime, and I do mean a lot, though never seemingly like this. A while back I recall watching "Jackie Brown" (another Tarantino contribution that also starred Jackson) with a friend of mine and he said to me during it, "Samuel L. Jackson always seems to play the same sort of characters the same way in his movies, only slightly different sometimes," a valid statement. Though, that is not the same Jackson in "The Hateful Eight," it is an ensemble cast but he is certainly the lead and leads this film he does. While what he says is usually riveting, it elevates to a level I was not prepared for, and the physical comedy and the delivering of his lines must be spoken of as part, be on the lookout for that monologue. Jackson isn't the only noteworthy performance, as it would be criminal to not include Kurt Russell's "John Ruth" and Jennifer Jason Leigh's "Daisy Domergue."
Right on cue, Tarantino has written another dynamite script that has something for all film fans. Every moment of the runtime is spent contemplating, laughing, or studying these characters and their actions - past, present, and future, and that is a credit to serious writing. I've seen a whodunit, I've seen a western, and neither has hit the subtle comedic strides "The Hateful Eight" hit. He seemed to have combined this movie as a blend from some of his previous works, this movie reeks of the same ingredients of "Reservoir Dogs," a group of violent, untrusting individuals in an isolated area and "Django Unchained," the Civil War era setting and the western feel.
Much like a lot of westerns, Tarantino dedicates time to setting. We get several beautiful shots and pans of the landscape to solidify the isolation of the area we are put into, leaving us never to ask "Why don't they just leave?" It doesn't just end there. Once everyone has arrived at the haberdashery, Minnie's, it is such a claustrophobic area that we are shown very fluently, we know where everyone is, know where every item is (the fireplace, coffee pot, dinner table) and that only helps place us into the mystery and allows us to keep an eye on everyone, because if you're watching the movie too, you're suspicious.
"The Hateful Eight" contains a great deal. It contains more than just Tarantino fan service, the violence and witty dialogue, it contains a captivating mystery wrapped in a western shell. It isn't weighed down by genres, studio restrictions, or a time constraint that would not allow enough time to develop its angry individuals. This movie is a welcome addition to a great storyteller's filmography, and quite possibly my favorite film of the year.