If you were to actually describe the plot, however, it'd go something like this: John 'The Hangman' Ruth (Kurt Russell) is transporting dastardly criminal Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) across Wyoming to a small town called Red Rock, where he plans to have Daisy executed for her crimes. Along the way, The Hangman picks up travellers Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) and Sheriff Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins). Together, the four head for Red Rock, but a storm forces them to seek shelter in a small, isolated cabin: Minnie's Haberdashery. Now, The Hangman isn't entirely pleased with this, what with Daisy's bounty being exceptionally high, and so he doesn't trust any of the seven other men inhabiting the cabin. One thing leads to another, and soon the mystery begins to unravel. What is perhaps most unique about The Hateful Eight when stood alongside Tarantino's other movies is that it takes place almost entirely within a single room. I'm aware that Reservior Dogs plays with a similar concept, but that film didn't clock in at almost three hours runtime; this does. Because of this, the film feels more akin to a stageplay than a traditional Tarantino flick, and is all the better for it. It could've been easy to capture the violent, action-packed lightning that is Django Unchained, but this is a very different beast. Things are far more foreboding, which makes the inevitable violence pack a bloody punch.
And the violence is certainly bloody. I'd go as far to say that it is quite probably the most violent Tarantino film to date, despite the violence itself being isolated to the latter half of the movie. Heads literally explode at times, and that alone should let you know what you're in for. There's also plenty of profanity and, controversially, racial slurs littered throughout. Of course, racist vocabulary is far from desirable in real life, but the contextual nature of the film means that it would be anything but acceptable to omit it from the script. Most of this is targeted at Samuel L. Jackson's character (being the only black man out of the Eight), but he gives just as good as he gets. Like Django Unchained, the script is shocking, but hilariously entertaining.
The solitary conditions that the film plays out in mean that it requires some hefty performances from its cast to remain interesting, and these are most certainly found. Every single inhabitant of Minnie's Haberdashery is fleshed out and personified by their respective actor, and there's never a moment in Hateful Eight's staggering runtime that I found myself feeling bored. You're drawn in to the story from the moment you lay eyes upon the bitter Wyoming countryside, and things don't let up until the credits roll.
The version I saw was at a regular screening, so I can't speak to the 70mm or its effect on the overall experience. There's a certain moment in the film which follows on from the intermission found in the longer cut, however. Without the intermission in the regular version, this moment that follows the transition felt a little unusual. I won't spoil why, but a certain narration seems more comical than endearing without the pause, and it almost feels like it should have been removed for the wide-spread release.
Verdict
While The Hateful Eight might feel a little slower than previous films by this legendary director, it's far from mundane. Every single scene is packed with tension and intrigue, and will have you guessing at the true motivations of the Eight until everything is revealed. The eventual reveal of the truth isn't even the conclusion to the story however, as Tarantino's iconic 'Chapters' continue further than this, until the story is truly told in its entirety. If you know what you're in for, then this is a bloody good time.
"Room for one more?"
No comments:
Post a Comment