Review: The Hateful Eight (2015) · 12:05am Dec 28th, 2015
And, just like before, I take shameless advantage of torrenting websites and downloaded the DVD Screener to The Hateful Eight. And I ain't one lick sorry.
Quentin Tarantino's eighth feature serves as not only a return to his roots, but also as a deliberately overcharged homage to the hyper-violence of the Italian Giallo film genre, both in subject matter and content.
Shooting in the sprawling 2.76:1 aspect ratio on 70mm film, Tarantino uses the entire frame beautifully, either as a showcase for the wondrous beauty of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, as a way to induce claustrophobia within the cramped confines of Minnie's Haberdashery, where our eight characters find themselves snowbound. As always, Tarantino LOVES to aggregate everything, from the explosions of hyper-violence accompanied with buckets of blood, to the coarse language that our most certainly hateful characters spit back and forth at each other. Yet, at the same time, this excessiveness is still tempered by an ability to keep the story focused, and to construct an intriguing and well put together concoction of mistrust and duplicity.
As always, Tarantino is a wordsmith, and here, he returns to his roots by forcing his characters to spend most of the film stuck in one place, and unable to leave. As such, the interchange and dialogue is vitally important to the story, and over the near three hour running time, he keeps things cooking slowly, and building tension. The dialogue is always sharp, and on point, and almost every character really gets a moment where they can show off their skills and really go to town with the screenplay. In many ways, the film plays more like a stage play, as there's maybe only three or four sequences taking place outside of the haberdashery, and with the sheer amount of dialogue. In a way, it feels like an amped up, Western version of Tarantino's first film, Reservoir Dogs, which also was a dialogue heavy, claustrophobic affair with bursts of ultra-violence.
Speaking of the violence, when there is violence here, Tarantino revels in it, which fits, given the film's Giallo origins. Giallo was always a genre that loved it's blood and guts, and Tarantino knows this. And as such, it can come across as indulgent and excessive to some, and with good reason. When people get shot here, blood explodes everywhere with wet bursts, splattering over everyone within a two foot radius, and that, mixed with one of the most violent poising sequences put to film means that this film is somewhat overwhelming to the unprepared.
Of course, what good is a well directed, well written film if the performers aren't good? Well rest easy, as everybody here is in top form. Tarantino veterans Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth, Bruce Dern, Kurt Russell, Michael Madsen and Walton Goggins join forces with the fresher faces of Jennifer Jason Leigh and Demián Bichir, and all perfectly embody their characters.
Samuel L. Jackson delivers what might be his best Tarantino performance since Pulp Fiction here, as the brazen Major Marquis Warren, a former Union cavalryman turned bounty hunter, and the closest this film gets to a lead character. Jackson, as always, exudes confidence and power, and delivers all of Tarantino's dialogue with the naturalism of a true collaborator. Given one of the most memorable (and disturbing) monologues in the Tarantino cannon, Jackson owns his screentime without question.
Kurt Russell also gives a stellar performance as John Ruth, a bounty hunter known as The Hangman. Trading barbs with Jackson, the two bounce off each other flawlessly, and Russell's "Take No Shit" mannerisms and style make his performance memorable. His violently charged interacts with Jennifer Jason Leigh are awesome to watch, as the sheer vitriol between the two characters keeps the air charged with aggression and strife.
Jennifer Jason Leigh is astounding as the brutish, almost demonically violent Daisy Domergue, who always exudes a vicious sense of deviousness and venom towards everyone. Completely owning her screentime among a sea of very masculine men, Leigh is uncompromising in her performance, and gives as good as she gets, with no holds barred on who'd face her eventual wrath.
Walton Goggins remains one of the top character actors, as the new Sheriff-to-Be of the remote Wyoming town of Red Rock. Speaking in a thick Southern Hick accent, and possessing a racially charged hatred towards Jackson's character, his interactions with Jackson and the rest of the cast are spectacular, and he really gets to show why he's such a great character actor.
The rest of the cast is all top tier, with Bruce Dern, Tim Roth, Demián Bichir, Michael Madsen and Channing Tatum (who shows up later on in a brief, but memorable turn) all giving spot on performances. As an ensemble piece, they all really get moments to shine, and they all are obviously having a ton of fun in their intentionally broad and over the top roles.
Robert Richardson's cinematography is amazing, with the wide scope of the aspect ratio holding a bevy of richly adorned colors, and the stark white the snow contrasting so beautifully with the dark colors of the various fur coats and outfits the characters wear. Every color is intentionally saturated, with the blood being a spectacular crimson, which makes it stand out even more.
Ennio Morricone returns to the genre he helped musically defined with his first Western score in more then 30 years, with this pitch-perfect showcase of his skill. A brash, intense score, it's using sparingly over the course of the film, but every moment of it's use is brilliant, and it stands as equally good music on it's own. Ramping up the tension, while also providing striking counterpoint to the hyper-violence, it's always ready to boil over in it's own explosion of musical sparks. Coupled with the choice use of The White Stripes, Roy Orbison, and others, Tarantino and Morricone are a musical match made in heaven.
So, in the end, I really did enjoy this film. It's intentionally overdone hyper violence might be a bit much for some, and it's favoring of a slower pace and dialogue over action means that it might not be a wall to wall thrill ride like Kill Bill, but The Hateful Eight for me was a great experience, and prime Tarantino.
5 out of 5 stars.