Violence with a Point

Rating: 7/10 (4 January 2016)

Much more of cinema has been formed and informed through the context of war than we would like to admit. Especially in American cinema, many of our uniformly appreciated classics are bookmarked by events such as WWII (Casablanca, Lawrence of Arabia, Schindler's List), Vietnam (Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Taxi Driver) and even the Civil War (The General, Gone with the Wind, Birth of a Nation). We as the audience (and creators) often brush over these events, excusing them as background and fodder. And why not? There's built-in conflict, villains, maybe even a battle or two; it all leads to high octane excitement sure to inspire so long as you don't think about it for too long. Quentin Tarantino however does not want his audience to ignore context to fit his narrative. He wants it upfront; in your face and made personal.
Marquis Warren (Jackson) definitely takes it personally when he's confronted by demons from his past; namely General Sandy Smithers (Dern) and Chris Mannix (Goggins) both of whom served the Confederacy with pride. Warren makes his living as a bounty hunter along with John "Hangman" Ruth (Russell) who just so happens to stop his stagecoach and pick the stranded compatriot up. Meanwhile Ruth is carrying Daisy Domergue (Jason Leigh), a villain on the way to the hangman's noose until a blizzard holds up everyone at Minnie's Haberdashery.
Despite what the title suggests there are originally nine indwellers at the stagecoach depot, most of whom are not telling the whole truth about themselves and what brought them there. Despite this, the Civil War hangs over the single roomed hobble like the chilly air of a deadly winter tempest. Those who participated find themselves at odds right quick and antagonize each other to the point of eruption. In the middle of it all is the devious Daisy who squeals with glee after every confrontation. As the story progresses and alliances are made and broken in Lord of the Flies-like procession, what's made clear is there were good and bad people fighting on both sides of the Mason-Dixie divide.
Quentin Tarantino has gotten a lot more political with age and maturity. While always fond of controversy, and speaking with a unique cinematic voice, those not inducted into the cult of Tarantino have dismissed him as kitsch. He has always been more concerned with film as a form than how that form can be utilized. Yet with Django Unchained (2012) and to a lesser extent Inglourious Basterds (2009), that kitschy, idiosyncratic voice suddenly had a little more to say than wax poetically about the cinematic art.
Though Hateful Eight isn't without it's Tarantino-esque excesses, not the least of which is his film 65mm to 70mm Ultra-Panavision transfer, his roadshow and his 3+ hour screen time (including an overture and an intermission). His fetish for a bygone cinematic era he himself never lived through, would carry more weight if he knew how to utilize such throwback technology. It is said he came up with the idea to shoot with the Panavision 65mm Hand-held and Studio cameras after watching Ben-Hur (1959) a movie that spanned decades, filmed on multiple sets and captured a world of color and magic not seen on the big screen until Lawrence of Arabia (1962). Hateful Eight features the haberdashery, the stagecoach and a few wintry landscape shots of Telluride and surrounding area. The results are serviceable but nowhere near the grandeur of Doctor Zhivago (1965) as was Tarantino's intention. That said those who appreciate his style yet have no idea where it comes from may be blown away while I just found it adequate.
The political issues brought up in Hateful Eight are surprisingly contemporary given the fact that all characters talk about the Civil War as if it just happened. This was done on purpose by the filmmakers and Tarantino himself who has been under fire for speaking out against police brutality. Before Tarantino was using his style for style's sake, now he's using it as a weapon. A weapon that demands we wake up to the forming fault-lines of our own society before we make the same mistakes as our forefathers. A weapon that implores us to take notice to war within the context of the story on full display. A weapon that tells onlookers to focus on the war within ourselves or else.