One of Tarantino's Best

Rating: 10/10 (4 January 2016)

Oh man, I've been waiting on this for a while and it's good to know that it's finally here. I'm a huge Quentin Tarantino fan and I absolutely adored his last western Django Unchained. This is another excellent film from Tarantino but I have a feeling it won't appeal to some people as much as it did me. I love Tarantino movies more for the dialogue than anything and this film is definitely heavy on the dialogue. There are some awfully violent scenes in the last half of the movie but if that's all you're looking for then this isn't the film for you. For those of you that like a good mystery with excellent dialogue and interesting characters, you'll want to check this one out.
The story centers around a woman named Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and a group of men in a frontier shop called Minnie's Haberdashery. John Ruth (Kurt Russell) is a bounty hunter known for taking his prisoners to hang no matter what and he is hell bound and determined that Daisy will hang for her crimes. He is joined by Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson), another bounty hunter who just kills his bounties since it makes his life much easier, and the new (maybe) Sheriff of Red Rock, a man named Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins). They are all on there way to Red Rock when a blizzard forces them to find shelter at Minnie's Haberdashery. When they arrive at the Haberdashery they meet the last four of the eight main characters: General Sandy Smither (Bruce Dern), a Confederate general known for massacring colored troops, Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth), the new hangman of Red Rock, Joe Gage (Michael Madsen), a cowboy out to visit mother, and finally Bob (Demian Bichir) a shady character watching the Haberdashery while Minnie is gone. It turns out all isn't as it seems in the Haberdashery and Daisy has an ally or allies among these men that are trying to help her escape. Pure chaos soon ensues.
With a cast this good, is there really any doubt about the acting talent in this film? Leigh is in top form as the foul mouthed and vindictive Domergue and it's easy to tell that something is wrong with the woman even before we find out what she's wanted for. Kurt Russell and his magnificent whiskers also give a great performance as the cautious and angry John Ruth. Samuel L. Jackson once again shows up in another Tarantino film and once again gives us one of the best monologues of his career. I'm not too familiar with Goggins but I've always liked what I've seen him in and he give a great performance here. He's really an underrated actor. I could keep going on and on but everyone in this film is absolutely superb. I love seeing these characters interact with each other, which is good, since that's the bulk of the movie.
The cinematography and soundtrack to this film is absolutely phenomenal. I'm not sure exactly where they filmed this movie but it looks like there was an actual blizzard outside. The countryside is beautiful but also barren in a way. It's very lonely but helps to set up the who done it nature of the film very well. The soundtrack is also intense as all hell and helps to set the mood for the story. I was literally on the edge of my seat during a good portion of the film and the music played a big part of that.
As I said before, this film definitely isn't for everyone. The story is excellent and the characters are interesting and unique but I know a few people that are having trouble with the pacing of the movie. Tarantino films are always a bit of a slow burn so you really shouldn't come into this one expecting nonstop action. I got exactly what I was expecting from it but I knew what to expect. Also, the language (especially directed towards Jackson and Leigh) will put off a few people. It's brutal language but Tarantino has never shied away from the more brutal aspects of his characters. There's also some really ultra violent scenes that will probably make some people sick (there were two people that actually walked out of my theater). If you can look past all of this then you should be good to go.
This is really an excellent film and I easily consider it one of Tarantino's best. The pacing will throw off a few people but if you go into it expecting interesting characters and some of the best dialogue Tarantino has ever written then you'll be fine. I recommend it but make sure you know what you're getting into.