The Hateful Eight directed by Quentin Tarantino is a fantastic film. Though it stretches to almost 3 hours, I never felt bored or uninterested, and that is primarily due to the unbelievable amount of tension that is built up right from the start with characters that are quirky and full of surprises. There is also a clear film-making style and vision, without a doubt Tarantino, that kept me hooked from the very start.
The film is also staged with an array of colorful characters who all end up getting stuck in a log cabin together due to a blizzard raging outside. None of them trust each other and they all have guns and a lot of time to kill. What ensues is pure fun and entertainment.
Before we get into the meat of this film, I have to mention how gorgeous it is. From the production design to the choice of film, everything feels like we are in a different time. The log cabin where most of the film takes place also feels extremely lived in and authentic. The characters may be another story though; I don’t really know how believable these characters are for the late 1800s, but this isn’t a historical film anyway, and if you are looking for accuracy I would look elsewhere.
That might also tie into why this film got a lot of criticism, most of which seemed to be from people who were pissed off about the way racial tensions were dealt with. Certainly Tarantino has some extreme views on the matter, but just because his views don’t correspond with mine doesn’t mean his film is any less masterful. And nothing that was said or done in the movie ever really put me off. Considering that a lot of the film takes place in post civil war America, I can imagine how people would be a little more explicit with how they feel about each other than nowadays.
However, this is something that might leave many audience members feeling quite uncomfortable. I can also see how the fact that the main woman in this film is beaten, pushed around and spat at would not go down well in the current political climate either. Regardless, this is an area for debate as many of Tarantino’s film are.
On the level of film-making craft, though, this piece is amazing. The tight environment that the characters are placed in heightens the already high tensions between them and you can feel their distrust with each other as they walk by. The writing here is also filled with amazing scenes of dialogue where these characters are just sitting around and talking to each other, which Tarantino is a master at writing and directing.
The entire film is essentially just a bunch of people sitting around and talking to each other, which could have made for an extremely boring film, but the way Tarantino pins these people against each other is brilliant, and we can see them scheming and escalating from one scene to the next, and I can confidently say that I didn’t know what was going to happen next. Not many directors these days can pull off something like this.
The acting is also exceptional, with Samuel L. Jackson and Kurt Russell giving some of their best performances, as do the rest of the cast.
This is not only a very Tarantino film, but it is also a magnificent film in itself. A who-done-it mystery that is beautifully staged, acted, written and directed. Everything comes together, and the end feels like the end of a journey. The Hateful Eight, with truly hateful characters and nobody to root for, is an exceptionally well-made film. It is also one that is bound to anger audiences, and even challenge those who have liked Tarantino’s previous projects.
