What did Tarantino do in The Hateful Eight?
He continued fiddling with the Spaghetti Western genre.
How did he do it?
Tarantino cross-bred western, detective movie, and B-category horror film, which he loved and will always love.
What is it all about?
Bounty Hunter John Ruth, a.k.a. The Hangman (Kurt Russell) escorts Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh), The Prisoner, to the execution for murder in the city of Red Rock. They ride a stagecoach through snowy Wyoming countryside. En route they pick Bounty Hunter, former Northern army officer Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) and Confederate veteran Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins) – a new sheriff in Red Rock. At Minnie’s Haberdashery, a secluded inn, they meet more strangers: Bob, the Mexican (Demian Bichir); Smithers, a former Confederate General (Bruce Dern); Gage, the cowboy (Michael Madsen), and Oswaldo Mobray, the executioner in Red Rock (Tim Roth). The overarching plot theme is the task to bring the sentenced to the place of execution. The problem lies within Daisy’s accomplices, who will not stop at anything to release her.
In other words, The Hateful Eight is a story of justice.
How does it look?
Of course, Tarantino has lost most of his sarcastic charm. Many of his jokes no longer work. Another weak spot, strangely enough, is the music: despite the excellent themes (Ennio Morricone was invited as composer), the soundtrack leaves the impression of discontinuity, not achieving a rhythmical cohesiveness.
And yet?
The dialogs are written masterfully, the cast is impeccable. The characters are all equipped with unique features – a fascinating collection of cutthroats and bastards. It is interesting to watch and listen as they speak; the dialogs work for the plot no less than for the characters development. The conversational scenes are used by Tarantino to fuel the tension until it explodes. Red paint is poured in buckets, bloody fireworks tear the display, the spectacle of violence soars to breathtaking heights.
What is it like?
It looks like Reservoir Dogs, crime drama, Tarantino’s full-length debut (1991). It has the same limited stage space, the same lack of distinction between good and evil, the same abundance of firefights, the same deadly draw in the final, and even one of the characters is played by Tim Roth – star of the Dogs.
What is new?
The civic pathos. The action takes place shortly after the end of the civil war between North and South; heroes, as can be seen, represent the majority of strata of the contemporary American society; main antagonists have to find the understanding and establish justice, otherwise all the sacrifices will be in vain.
What is The Hateful Eight?
Despite all the irony, it is The Birth of a Nation made by Pulp Fiction’s author. To ensure that the building would stand long and tight, a little blood was mixed into the foundation. Done.
It is a good or bad movie?
This is the eighth film by Tarantino. Surprisingly hateful and exciting.
