The Hateful Eight – Movie Review

Tarantino’s latest movie isn’t on the “epic” scale of the French and Jews murdering Nazis, nor is it the valiant knight Django saving Broomhilda from the Dragon in hellfire. No, we’re going back to basics! To the Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction-era of Tarantino.

   

The movie begins with wide shots of the snowy mountains, forests and a wooden carving of crucified Jesus Christ covered in snow… and then! Ennio Morricone’s composed soundtrack  for the Hateful Eight begins, kicking off the Snow Western in gear.

It’s the post-civil-war America and what happens when you put 8 strangers: Joh Ruth the Hangman (Played by Kurt Russell), Major Marquis Warren the Bounty Hunter (played by Samuel L. Jackson), Chris Mannix the Sheriff (played by Walton Goggins), Daisy Domergue the Prisoner (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh), a Little British man, a Mexican, the Cow Puncher and a Confederate General in the same room with guns for a hellish blizzard night? You’re going to have some dead bodies rolling over!

Samuel L. Jackson steals the whole show alongside Walton Goggins, they receive the best snippets of dialogue, character exchanges and the jokes, but holy shit does Jennifer Jason Leigh transform into a monster through the movie, she is the nastiest vile bitch I’ve seen in a long while when it comes to horror.

Before continuing, I’m now giving a spoiler warning. I will now discuss about the characters, the plot and the themes the movie is trying to invoke with the audience. I do not wish for anyone to spoil themselves of the movie or have any prejudices when seeing the Hateful Eight.

John Ruth is an advocate of civil liberties and opposes slavery, but has never talked to any African American before meeting with Marquis; and even still only shows respect to him, because he is pen pals with Abraham Lincoln.

Whereas the Southern Sheriff Chris Mannix, a once high ranking member of the Mannix Marauders, who we could identify as sort of pre-KKK organization. Slaughtered a fair share of African American slaves, reassures he only fought in the far because the North demanded too much from their Southern brothers.

Even the Warren himself, brags proudly how he joined the military just to murder white people, regardless of their faction on the cause.

Then we have Daisy Domergue, who is race is hating criminal with no moral compass, but she is the most honest of them all. She isn’t hiding behind anything political or higher moral, she is just out there for herself and is willing to kill everyone who steps on her way.

The main gist of the movie, the very core and heart of the movie is, how we have separated ourselves by race and politics; while we should strive for the dreams and idealisms we’re constantly yanking all about. 

That is why the reveal of the Lincoln letter that Marquis possesses is so important to the movie, you just want to keep hear reading it.

I have seen Hateful Eight twice by now and would like to see it again, because the ideas the movie invokes just engages for conversation more than those Academy award begging flicks.