The Hateful Eight (2015) (English Language)

Review

186min

Genre:      Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Western

Director:   Quentin Tarantino

Cast:        Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Samuel L. Jackson…more

Writer:     Quentin Tarantino

-Synopsis-

In the cold post civil war American frontier, a hardened bounty-hunter and his prisoner are joined by extra passengers as they head for an isolated lodge to escape a fierce blizzard, now surrounded by a group of mysterious strangers forced together by circumstance, a plot of deceit starts to violently unravel in the 8th film from writer/director Quentin Tarantino.

Coming not quite hot off the heels of his 2012 slavery revenge Western, this could almost be a companion piece to ‘Django Unchained’. Taking place in late 19th century Wyoming not long after the US civil war, ‘The Hateful Eight’ still carries the heavy burden of slavery and is almost as racially charged as “Django” was, featuring a not so subtle subtext of a recently united yet bitterly divided nation, sound familiar?

So if you’re outraged by the “N-Word” in any context, or indeed you can’t stomach graphic violence with comedic overtones, or a general disregard for political correctness, then prepare to be offended, but then again, why would you watch a Quentin Tarantino movie?

Indeed ‘The Hateful Eight’ has elements from much of Tarantino’s previous work, plenty of ‘Django Unchained’ combined with the character mystery and standoff element of ‘Reservoir Dogs’, plus a sprinkling of ‘Inglorious Basterds’ for good measure.

There’s everything you might want and expect from a Tarantino production here, larger-than-life characters engaging in darkly comic and extremely graphic violence, sharp if slightly less memorable than usual dialogue, and of course a captivating non-conventional narrative that manages to blend in a mystery “who done it?” element.

Aided as always by the script, the actors deliver in spades, producing gloriously overacted performances that fit their world, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Samuel L. Jackson are the heart of the piece but for us Walton Goggins steals the show.

Much has been made of ‘The Hateful Eight’ being shot in glorious 70mm Panavision, and yes the panoramic visuals are stunning, but given that most people will never see this film in that format, it’s no more visually impressive than several films of the last 12 months.

If anything it’s the sound that catches the attention through the excellent sound design and historic 1st use of an original score by Tarantino, an ominous and evocative blend of Jazz and Classical from no less than the godfather of the Western soundtrack, the great Ennio Morricone.

So considering all the constituent components, why is ‘The Hateful Eight’ a less compelling and memorable piece of work than we’ve seen from Quentin Tarantino in the past?

Firstly, aside from the score, those components don’t quite mesh together as well as his last few pictures and ultimately the narrative as a whole is just not as engrossing.

But it really comes down to the runtime. ‘The Hateful Eight’ is way too long and everything from the narrative to the dialogue seems unnecessarily but unapologetically stretched out for dramatic effect but not quality, particularly when you approach and pass the 3 hour mark.

The Bottom Line…

Quentin Tarantino retains his position as king of genre filmmaking with an unapologetically violent but gruesomely funny Western that shocks and entertains on many levels, but the overstretched dialogue and a narrative that drags on beyond 180 minutes prevent ‘The Hateful Eight’ from being the instantly memorable classic we might have hoped for.

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Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Django Unchained (2012)

In the pre civil war American south, a German bounty-hunter takes a freed slave under his wing as they traverse the plantations of Mississippi taking heads on their way to rescuing Django’s wife from a sadistic plantation owner in writer/director Quentin Tarantino’s slavery revenge western.

Directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio among others.

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