The Hateful Eight (2015) Dir: Quentin Tarantino
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Quentin Tarantino's Western thriller may not be the first film many would think of when one brings up his body of work, but, for me, it is actually one of his best. The film is an underrated story of justice, vengeance and racism. Tarantino has his fair share of critics, and not without reason, but his ability to craft cinema is, at times, unrivalled.
As is to be expected with a Tarantino film, the dialogue was stellar. If there's one thing he is best at, it's writing interesting and clever dialogue. As he does in his other films, Tarantino uses seemingly irrelevant dialogue passages to further his narrative and character development. This film is one of the best examples of this form of indirect storytelling.
Another consistent strong point of the film was, unsurprisingly, the soundtrack. It was a big part of the tense atmosphere surrounding the film, and both fit thematically and aesthetically with the story being told. I really appreciate how seriously Tarantino takes his soundtracks, because it almost always pays off hugely.
The narrative was a wicked and winding road of mystery, conflict and distrust. I really enjoy how well-established the key characters in the film are. If I was to bemoan anything, it would be that the secondary characters do most definitely feel like secondary characters, but the key roles are built very nicely.
The story does have a couple issues, namely a twist or two that doesn't feel entirely necessary, at least in the way it was done, beyond its humour or shock value. However, for the most part, each moment seems to build effectively towards the typically visceral and gratuitous climax.
Samuel L. Jackson shows the full array of his talents in this starring role. He displays some serious, dramatic acting ability, while also managing to exhibit his always funny, slightly cheeky, comedic chops with abundance. Jackson and Tarantino have a long-running, successful, relationship, and I think it was great seeing him in another prominent and well-suited role.
Walton Goggins is such a welcome inclusion in this film. He plays a character whose audience perception needs to change from his introduction to his final scenes, which could only happen if the character is acted and developed well enough. Thankfully, both writer and actor do a pretty sterling job of this, as Goggins is almost impossible not to enjoy the acting of.
Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kurt Russell provide a truly hilarious duo I the film. The stark divide between their characters, in conjunction with their strange and precarious bond, makes for a genuinely fascinating and very entertaining character dynamic. This dynamic is excelled upon by both Leigh and Russell, who give the film some of its biggest laughs with ease.
There are a few members of the supporting cast that deserve particular praise for their performances, those being Tarantino regular Tim Roth, who was as charismatic and witty as they come, and the very talented Bruce Dern, who makes you hate him with a succinct surity.
Also worth noting, are the performances of the likes of Demián Bichir, another familiar Tarantino face in Michael Madsen, James Parks, Channing Tatum, Dana Gourrier and Zoë Bell. Each add an extra layer of quality to the film, even if their characters weren't quite as well developed or realised as those above.
Overall, I personally love this film for its excellent mix of Western and murder mystery feels, as well as its very satisfying aesthetics. I do think it is very gratuitous, as are basically all of Tarantino's films, but if you don't mind a little gore and shock violence every so often, then this won't bother you too much. I think it's worth it for the dialogue, at the very least.
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