The Hateful Eight

Score:  **** out of ***** (B+)

Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Starring Kurt Russell, Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, et. al.
Running time:  167 minutes
Rated R

Long Story Short:  The Hateful Eight is Tarantino's latest, and also one of his longest and slowest films yet.  Fear not - you still get everything you expect from Tarantino, from the great dialogue to the inventiveness to the suspense.  And led by Russell, Jackson, Goggins and Leigh, the cast and characters are among his best ever.  Still, it is long, so you may want to Netflix this and watch it in pieces.  If you can get through it, you'll have more to think about than the ever-present gore.


Shortly after the Civil War, a stagecoach carrying a bounty hunter (Russell) and his prize (Leigh) charges through the harsh winter Wyoming landscape.  Trying to outrun an approaching blizzard, they come upon a man on foot, another bounty hunter (Jackson) hauling trophies - dead ones - of his own.  Ruth allows Warren to hitch a ride on the stagecoach, but before long they oddly come across another man on foot in the brutal conditions.  Claiming he is the new sheriff of the next town over, Ruth and Warren grudgingly let him on, too.  Ruth the bounty hunter grows more nervous all the time, now traveling with a prisoner, another bounty hunter, and a man who may be a sheriff (or just after the prize money).  Before reaching town, they are forced to stop at a small lodge, Minnie's Haberdashery, where four other men already stay - but Minnie's nowhere to be found.

Forced together by the storm, it's a cramped and tense environment.  Ruth not only has to keep a close eye on his prisoner but also keep the other on the seven strangers he doesn't know or trust.  Surprises and circumstances lead to confrontations, and each of the eight just hopes to be the last man standing - and out of Minnie's little lodge.

As usual, Tarantino has assembled a fine cast for The Hateful Eight and they bring life to the character-driven film.  Kurt Russell is the main character, bounty hunter John Ruth, whose transporting of his prisoner is the basis of the plot.  Gruff, rough, and independent, Ruth is still earnest and likable.  Russell does a very good job grounding Ruth as the central player around whom the others revolve, yet not resorting to turning him into a hero.  If one thing is true in this film it's that appearances are deceiving, though Ruth is more straightforward than the others, and thus more sympathetic.  Samuel L. Jackson is next up as former Union soldier turned bounty hunter Warren.  Warren is an amiable character, though he's also (understandably) skeptical of his companions.  Tarantino creates a rich and complex backstory for his frequent muse, though I won't spoil it.  Suffice it to say the character suits Jackson perfectly, and he doesn't let us down with his combo of smooth, cool control and righteous, withering outbursts.  Walton Goggins, an actor I know from Justified, plays Mannix, the apparent new sheriff hitching a ride.  A former Confederate, he is the opposite of Warren in many ways yet also possesses the same cool head and savvy.  Mannix reminds me a lot of Goggins' character on Justified (besides just being a Southerner) - I'm equally impressed with the smooth charm he can display yet always underlying it is a dangerous menace.  Rounding out the main characters is Jennifer Jason Leigh's Domergue, Ruth's prisoner.  She doesn't get many lines, and early on seems almost a mute savage, a simultaneously crafty and thick one at that.  She often sinks into the background - probably intentionally - as the boys do the talking (and make the mistakes).  Fully immersed in the revolting character, Jason Leigh does a great job and when she gets the spotlight she makes the most of it.

The other cast members do well in their various supporting roles.  Perhaps the best of them is Bruce Dern as a former Confederate general.  He has quite a confrontation with Jackson's Warren which is spectacular, but otherwise conveys the subtle complexity of an extremely bigoted old man worn down by both age and experience.  Tim Roth is one of the more fun and upbeat characters to watch as, coincidentally, the man who is to hang Domergue.  Playing the diplomat in confrontations, he still always seems to be scheming just behind the smile.  The others do fine as well, and there is one major role toward the end that I'll keep a surprise.

A slow-build Western, Tarantino's latest film is less action-packed and more thoughtful than his recent films - for both better and worse.  Adding to the slower nature of the film is its considerable running time of two hours, forty-five minutes.  Filling all this time, besides a few extended shots of the landscape, is the rich roster of characters I've just described.  Tarantino is definitely strong when it comes to dialogue and trademark tense scenes - here, the former is certainly apparent though surprisingly the latter does not really show up.  There is absolutely tension, but it is more spread out rather than concentrated in a few scenes (other than one, but since it's the climax I don't count it as part of Tarantino's usual style).  The overall tensions and the relationships that rise and fall among the characters are the main focus here and it's a credit to Tarantino and the actors that's enough to sustain the film, at least most of the way.  Warren and Mannix's relationship in particular is crackling to start, and the way that it subtly evolves as the two move beyond the initial black-Southerner conflict is fascinating.  In fact, the resolution of that relationship is the resolution of the film, a surprising one that nonetheless is both believable and poignant.

***

The Hateful Eight is not my favorite Tarantino film, but it's a favorable sign that as I think back on it, I gravitate to the strengths rather than the weaknesses.  The film is too long - quite simply, that is the main reason that this is not in the "A" range.  I don't think I'd want to go back and watch it again soon because of that.  There's just too much filler, even if none of it is entirely wasteful or pointless.  Yet in some ways, it is the very length of the film and the (sometimes frustrating) pace that sets the tone of the film, and it's a good one.  I scored Django higher than this, but I'm much in doubt that it's actually a better film.  Easier to sit through and enjoy the shorter, more action-packed proceedings, sure.  But Hateful Eight's characters certainly make a much larger impression, and leave you more to chew on afterward.  I guess in conclusion, this is a very worthy addition to Tarantino's filmography and while it retains his distinct style and strengths, it does so in ways that are enjoyed and appreciated much differently.  As always, there is plenty of gore here - not the whole way through - so you know whether you should avoid it (or at least be ready to cover your eyes).  If you can get through that, then I highly recommend this either in the theater or via Netflix.




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