The Hateful Eight – Movie Review
The Hateful Eight – R
Release Date: Thu 31 Dec 2015
In Quentin Tarantino’s eighth film, a bounty hunter (Kurt Russell) and his bounty (Jennifer Jason Leigh) end up stuck in a haberdashery during a howling Wyoming blizzard. The others in the “hateful” group include a former union soldier and current bounty hunter (Samuel L. Jackson,) a man claiming to be the new sheriff (Walton Goggins,) a Mexican named Bob (Demian Bichir,) an Englishman claiming to be the local hangman (Tim Roth,) a man claiming to be a cowboy (Michael Madsen) and an elderly Confederate general (Bruce Dern.)
The movie takes place over several chapters introducing and expanding on characters a little at a time. Every scene oozes with tension as it always feels like something can go very, very badly at any second. I was a bit disappointed in the climax and twist of the film which eschews one of my favorite things about Tarantino’s best work; his ability to make you squirm about implied violence and then make something you weren’t aware of or worried about make that implication a moot point.
It’s still a great film with amazing performances, direction, writing and cinematography. We saw it in the 70mm “roadshow” format which came with a program and included an overture and intermission. At 187-minutes long, an intermission is pretty important. There is graphic violence and lots of adult/racist language but this is a Tarantino film and none of that should be a surprise. The unique way it was shot (in a film format last used in the 1960’s) and the performances more than make up for the fact that this script infamously leaked years ago and nearly ended the project. I wouldn’t say it’s among his best, but it’s still worth checking out in the theater in 70mm or digital as available.
Hannah, Aaron, Nick and I saw it in the theater and had a discussion in the car:
