The Hateful Eight is the 8th film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It sees Tarantino return to the Western genre and tells the story of 8 despicable people snowed-in in an isolated lodge in post civil war Wyoming. While a lot of the response towards this film highlights how it does not match up to the quality of previous Tarantino flicks, I'd respectfully disagree and argue its one of the best films of the year. I went into it expecting foul/racist language, excessive violence and Tarantino's staple, rapid-fire dialogue in abundance, and that's exactly what I got.
Tarantino's clear love for this genre emanates through his direction of this flick. It feels as if it is a film that should have been released in the 1960s (complete with an overture and a genuine intermission that occurs bang-on halfway through) with all of the restrictions lifted from it. Not only is it one of the best Western's we've been treated to in the 21st Century, but it's also an effective suspense, whodunit type film in the vein of Clue which keeps you speculating throughout. Until the actual reveal occurs, your wondering mind can never properly lock down exactly what is going on. That is good writing.
Similar yet not quite exactly the same as Tarantino's classic Pulp Fiction, The Hateful Eight also boasts another Tarantino staple; non linear storytelling. While it may not be executed in the same way as it is in Pulp Fiction, when it cuts back in time it does so at the perfect moment within the story. When it does so, it gives you a completely new perspective on events that previously occurred within the film and reveal more about certain characters previously shrouded in mystery. On top of this, Tarantino's phenomenal direction outwardly shines by capturing the sense of location quite brilliantly. This combined with the chilling cinematography and Ennio Morricone's breathtakingly eerie score create an atmosphere of dread and isolation. But seriously, that score from Morricone is quite brilliant, one theme in particular will be stuck in your head for days as its so memorable.
But The Hateful Eight is such a great film not solely due to the stylistic way it is presented, but because the dialogue here is so interesting to the point where you can sit and watch 2 people at odds with each other talk for 10 straight minutes and you simply would not get bored. Its probably my favourite screenplay of the entire year as Tarantino's dialogue captivates you from early on and keeps you hooked for the entire runtime.
The acting performances are all terrific as well from such an impressive ensemble cast, but I'd be lying to you if I said that Samuel L Jackson didn't steal the film and shine in every frame that he is in. There is a lot of talent in this film, for example there's Kurt Russell, Tim Roth, Bruce Dern and Jennifer Jason Leigh to name a few, but Sam Jackson is simply the standout. In a movie where there are a lot of very interesting characters with intriguing back stories and reasons to be conflicted with other characters, Sam Jackson's takes the cake for me. There is one monologue in particular (which if you've seen the film you know exactly what I'm talking about) which completely floored me due to his believable performance and the bluntly dark comedy injected into the scene.
The entire film is filled with a cavalcade of compelling characters with varying back stories and allegiances who are fleshed out excellently by Tarantino's writing. Because this film relies on mystery to be dramatically impactful, you have to have characters in it which will propel the mystery along. As the runtime goes on, you as a viewer can't help but speculate as to who is responsible for what is really going on. So not only is it a beautifully directed, acted and written movie, its a film which encourages audience participation and concentration.
My only flaw with this film rests in the length of time spent on working out just "whodunit". In my opinion, they should have spent longer on drawing out this mystery in order to increase the levels of suspense and intensity up even further. It wasn't dragged out long enough for my personal taste.
That is literally it for a film which is one of my absolute favourites of the year and for a film which may have the best screenplay of the year as well. Tarantino once again proves he is the master of dialogue by crafting an engrossing, violent and pulsating Western which will go down as one of the genre's very best, even alongside previous Tarantino effort Django Unchained:
Rating - A
Enjoy Ennio Morricone's mesmerising soundtrack here:
Thanks for reading,
Matt
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