“The Hateful Eight” is director Quentin Tarantino’s newest action film that relies on the expertise of an eclectic group of brilliant actors to carry the film with smart dialogue that Tarantino is famous for.
The western is set after the fallout of the American Civil War and features a group of various rugged characters. The film takes place in a remote cabin known as Minnie’s Haberdashery. The action takes off as the hateful eight seek refuge from a blizzard.
With a wide range of colorful characters including bounty hunters, criminals, war veterans and law enforcers, the story throws them all into a cabin for three days and invites you to watch what happens.
The stellar cast includes notable faces from past Tarantino films, such as Kurt Russell, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth and of course, Samuel L Jackson. The carefully chosen cast will not leave the viewer disappointed. All the actors in the film are awesome.
Madsen brings his usual charm and charisma and it’s great to see the return of Tim Roth, but for me, particular note has to go to Kurt Russell. The veteran actor plays John Ruth, a notorious bounty hunter known as ‘the hangman’, who rocks up to the cabin handcuffed to his prisoner Daisy Domergue, intent on taking her to Red Rock to hang. Ruth is simply a great big bastard of a man with a reputation for retribution and it’s Russell’s best role in years.
Jennifer Jason Leigh is a revelation as Daisy, a wild-eyed, psychotic, nasty piece of work who basically serves as the films punching bag. Leigh’s performance is Oscar material.
Then there is Samuel L. Jackson. The man who was born to speak the words that Tarantino writes, who garners more monologue references than Shakespeare and who always ends up stealing the show. He is in absolute top form as bounty hunter Major Warren, a badass gunslinger who thinks he has the whole thing sussed out. He has some of the best dialogue in the film and a particular passage concerning a certain appendage of his, is delivered with expected menace.
It’s a clever film with an intriguing, murder-mystery style premise, fueled by great dialogue and played out by an A-class ensemble. “The Hateful Eight” is one of Tarantino’s best works as a whole.
The premise of the film revolves around the viewer deciding who to trust, but slowly realizing that no character is who they say they are. There’s no denying the director’s talent for storytelling.
A story that takes place in one room and relies heavily on character and dialogue might sound boring to some, but when Tarantino’s at the helm it is brilliant. It’s a tightly-woven, intricate story that has all the trademarks we’ve come to expect and many twists and surprises that make the three-hour run-time fly by.
Anyone expecting another “Django” may want to realign their expectations, as it’s more reminiscent of “Reservoir Dogs” than anything, which I’m sure you know is no bad thing.
“The Hateful Eight” would work just as well on the stage, as the complex and engaging characters, make up for the lack of a varied setting.
The director has hopes for his film to grace the live stage. But for now, his latest film can sit proudly alongside an expansive body of work, proving once again that Tarantino is a master filmmaker with the best dialogue in Hollywood who simply never fails to deliver. We are, quite frankly, very lucky to have him. If you love Tarantino then you’ll love “The Hateful Eight.”
“The Hateful Eight” is currently playing at Cinemark Theaters in Conway. It is rated R for strong bloody violence, a scene of violent sexual content, language, and some graphic nudity.
This article originally appeared in the Jan. 20, 2016 print edition of The Echo.
image via forbes.com
