The Hateful Eight (January 2016)

Official Australian release date: 21/1/16. Viewed: 21/1/16.

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Actors: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Walton Goggins, Jennifer Jason Leigh

Genre: Drama / Mystery

Rating: R    

Much like ‘Spotlight’ and ‘The Big Short’ will be linked, ‘The Hateful Eight’ and ‘The Revenant’ will be linked in my mind, due to the fact that they’re both set in 19th century wintry American Northwest (this time Wyoming), both nominated for Oscars (although 3 vs 12, with the only overlap being cinematography – probably have to go to ‘The Revenant’ instead) and both released in January. And while they’re similar – and both pretty good – neither is definitely better than the other, and neither is quite as great as it could have been.

This is, obviously, Tarantino’s 8th film, but it annoyed me that for the majority of the film, there’s nine people trapped in the cabin, even though the posters and title refer to the eight of them! O.B. (Parks – 4th Tarantino film), the stagecoach driver, doesn’t rate a mention? He has some of the funniest moments in the film! Only Tarantino can have a film starring ‘eight’ characters and end up with 14 bodies, with some characters still alive at the end! The eight main characters are:

     - Marquis Warren (Jackson – 6th Tarantino film), former Yankee Major, now bounty hunter;

     - John Ruth (Russell – 2nd Tarantino film), a bounty hunter with a great moustache;

     - Daisy Domergue (Jason Leigh – 1st Tarantino film), Ruth’s bounty he’s taking to hang;

     - Chris Mannix (Goggins – 2nd Tarantino film), the new Sheriff of Red Rock;

     - Oswaldo Mobray (Roth – 3rd Tarantino film), a British hangman;

     - Senor Bob (Bichir – 1st Tarantino film), the Mexican innkeeper;

     - Joe Gage (Madsen – 3rd Tarantino film), a raspy-voiced loner cowboy; and

     - Sandy Smithers (Dern – 2nd Tarantino film), former Confederate General.

Feels a little like Tarantino started with a joke: “a black war hero, a Mexican, an Englishman, a Kiwi and a racist walk into a bar...” and went from there! Once all eight are trapped in Minnie’s Haberdashery due to the blizzard, the mystery of who’s who – and where Minnie is – is slowly uncovered, with trust in short supply. Starts very slow – particularly the titles, with Tarantino using his classic colouring and sound to show everyone involved in the film before it can properly start. It’s long (2 hours 45min), but not ridiculously so – however, you could probably take out 30min from the start/middle and have a better-paced film. Morricone’s score is good, and the cinematography looks great when they’re out in the mountains and snow, but over 75% of the film is shot inside the cabin, where it’s dark!

Takes a while to really get going, but once it does, there’s plenty of blood (hence the R-rating), as the truth is uncovered. Jackson is great and the main star, while Russell does a fantastic John Wayne impersonation – his voice cadence and over-bearing attitude are spot on –  and Jason Leigh is fun to watch as the vile and racist criminal. The real stand-out, though, is Goggins as the seemingly inept Sheriff – he plays his part with clear relish and gets a few laughs and gets to show some heart underneath his racist exterior. While ‘The Hateful Eight’ is very enjoyable in parts, I didn’t enjoy it anywhere as much as ‘Django Unchained’ or ‘Inglorious Basterds’.

Overall: A little long and overwrought, but still a good Western/’whodunit’.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.