The Hateful Eight

This is a fine piece of storytelling - a mystery, western, and political drama - all artfully melded together by a seasoned crew and talented actors.

The action is set in antebellum Wyoming, in the heart of a raging blizzard, in a frontier bar. Setting is very important here.

The period is meaningful for the political currents that flow in nearly all the characters. Feelings about the American civil war are very up-front, with complicit atrocity present in nearly all the characters. The war brought out horrible things in these people, and we see how they deal with that shared knowledge, both personally and to each other.

The blizzard provides the necessary isolation to the story. These characters are stuck with each other, and this forced closeness is central to the story - they're all Hateful, and that hate reverberates among them, destroying peace and hope. Hate is what brings them together and hate is what tears them apart. The blizzard also provides some interesting incidental elements that are fascinating to watch, like the hardship of a simple task like preparing guidelines, or going to the outhouse, and the cold hell explodes inward at times (when the door is opened) with punctuating effect, providing some breaks to the narrative, and even some needed laughs.

And the bar... This film's action takes place primarily in one large room. It feels very much like a stage play (as another reviewer mentioned), allowing greater intimacy with the characters and their interactions, while providing us with an opportunity to witness multiple scenarios unfolding at the same time. This density of action is very cool. We are afforded third person omniscience without losing connection with the motives and perspectives of the players.

And the stage setting meshes very integrally with the acting. We see the principal actors doing top-notch with not only their primary motivational actions, but nearly every choice in blocking and busy action. The director and production team make a very wise choice in showing the small little details of what's going on here. Attention is paid to realistic procedural actions, and reactions, for these details. The result is that we see characters behaving in reasonable ways to their environments, pausing to disarm a stranger, or undo a shackle, not simply because the plot calls for it, but because it's a reasonable choice that they would make at the time. Very refreshing to see, actually.

On the negative side, Tarrantino's choice to use narration was weakly executed. I don't know if there would have been a way to do this without narration, but the actual usage detracted from the ongoing story. Also, there were a few points in the action where the characters seemed to be a little too accepting of the events that transpire around them. This is purely a fault of direction/writing.

But overall, a very watchable film, that is notably unafraid to portray some very dirty and uncomfortable bits of the human psyche. Some folks seem to have an issue with this last part. My advice to them is to loosen up a bit and accept art that hurts a little. That's one of the things good art can do.

I was a bit sceptical about watching the movie, judging by reviews online and some friends who watched it,but in the end I really liked it.The acting was great .The story was very intriguing with the whole "Murder Mystery" theme.Another plus was the score by the one and only Ennio Morricone.The cinematography was also brilliant especialy with all the breathtaking sceneries in the early part.My only promblem was that the violence was a bit too extreme in some parts,but it is a Tarantino movie so this was expected.Overall it was a good movie that I will definately rewatch it.

Everything you would come to expect from Tarantino, just on a more confined scale. The original screen play and acting both amaze, it is always refreshing to see some of the banter and slang he comes up with. Yes it is super violent but once again the director makes it so we really don't care, the music fits perfect as well.

You Guys Need To Watch This Masterpiece.

There are too much dialogue and slow movie but after the first half you will enjoy the movie. Kurt And Jackson's Oscar Worthy Performance 🔥

Some kind of uniqueness in every dialogue such a brilliant piece of work.

Thanks Quentin. Looking Forward For Your Next Movie.

You'd have to go back 80 years or so to the film adaptation of Sidney Kingsley's Dead End to find a film where the set qualifies as a living participant of the action. The house in the adaption of the Eugene O'Neill classic Long Day's Journey Into Night also qualifies here.

The action is set up when the stagecoach where bounty hunter Kurt Russell is taking his prisoner Jennifer Jason Leigh to the town of Red Rock to be hung. A couple of prairie hitchhikers also come on board another bounty hunter Samuel L. Jackson and Walton Goggins son of a former Confederate general who says he's the new sheriff in the town of Red Rock. Kurt Russell replete with full flowing beard and mustache is one suspicious man. He has those suspicions justified before the film is ended.

80% of the action takes place on set of the 19th century bed and breakfast during the time of a nasty Wyoming winter and does the dialog crackle. If you think you're going to see a western the kind that John Ford or Howard Hawks or Henry Hathaway did back in the old days, then don't watch The Hateful Eight. Hateful is the operating word with these characters, there's nothing really noble about any of them.

Besides the set of Minnie's Haberdashery to recommend it, Quentin Tarrantino selected a truly fine ensemble cast who play beautifully off each other. As the outlaw queen Jennifer Jason Leigh got a Best Supporting Actress nomination, but in my humble opinion she doesn't stand out any more than any of the rest of them. The Hateful Eight also earned Ennio Morricone an Oscar for the best musical score for 2015.

The Hateful Eight is a great western, but it ain't your grandpa's kind of western.