Category: Western

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★★1/2

Written and Directed By: 

Quentin Tarantino

Starring: 

Samuel L. Jackson as Major Marquis Warren

Kurt Russell as John ‘The Hangman’

Jennifer Jason Leigh as Daisy Domergue

Tim Roth as Oswarldo Mobray

Michael Madsen as John Gage                         

Walton Goggins as Sheriff Chris Mannix

Bruce Dem as General Sanford Smithers

Demián Bichir as Bob

Zoe Bell  as Six-Horse Judy                              

James Parks as O. B Jackson

Original Music Composed and Conducted By: 

Ennio Morricone

Cinematography:

Robert Richardson

Running Time:   

187 min

Set in the middle of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter, John, The Hangman (Kurt Russell), is forced to take shelter with his prisoner in Minnie’s Haberdashery.  As the title suggests, The Hangman and his prisoner, Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) are stranded with six other dubious characters, making a total of 8 hateful (seeming) strangers.

A western set during a snow storm, this is a great movie to show in Ultra Panavision 70mm film as it adds a cinematic expanse to the scenery, the snow, the horses and most importantly, the facial expressions of the characters who tell the story.

There’s amazing dialogue here (particularly well expressed by Walton Goggins as Sheriff Chris Mannix. Boy does Walton have a silver tongue!), but it’s also about what’s left unsaid, what the wink of a bruised eye can express, that words cannot.

Another standout performance is from Jennifer Jason Leigh where her expressions were so convincing, Daisy Domergue could be mistaken for a reptile disguised as a human.

Director, Quentin Tarantino in an interview on Triple J (18/01/16) described Daisy as, ‘Hiding in plain sight’.

Samuel L Jackson playing the part of Major Marquis Warren is shown to be noticing and clocking all that is not right. Tarantino states – ‘Taking it all in and staying silent with his hand on the butt of his gun because he’s in a room full of white people he doesn’t trust’. And with the rich detail of the 70mm film, every expression is captured and shown to the audience.

I liked the Overture with the stark black and red stencilled image of the six-horse drawn stage coach slowly becoming more vivid with the build-up of music composed and conducted by Ennio Morricone. A great way to settle the audience and slowly capture their attention before the beautiful wide screen scene of the image taking life, of the stage coach been driven through the falling snow.

The first 2 hours went by surprisingly quickly. There’s not a lot of action here. But the dialogue between the characters is hugely entertaining. And the not-so-subtle gallows humour and O. B’s bad luck is gloriously funny.

After the Intermission and release of tension, the buzz in the bathroom, you come back to be taken in for the film’s dramatic conclusion.

The Hateful Eight is not for the light-hearted. There are some truly terrible scenes and brain been blown into people’s faces, etc. This is an R-rated film for a reason.  Not that I mind a bit of stylised blood and guts.  This is classic Tarantino good-fun gore.

But the film wasn’t perfect. I wasn’t convinced by the addition of Zoe Bell as Six-Horse Judy with her New Zealander accent… in the middle of Wyoming… in the 1870s… But I was pleasantly surprised by the humour.

The acting and writing in this movie is enough to rate this film highly.  And seeing the special screening with the 70mm film and program is Tarantino showing The Hateful Eight at its absolute best making the viewing an event (see photos above).

Really, what fun. I’m still smiling.