Tarantino delivers another masterwork of neo-western storytelling as beautiful and mysterious as its blizzard-set mountains cinematography – with world-class acts & screenwriting, legendary Morricone score, and wildly-subversive whodunit. 8.8/10.
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Plot Synopsis: Set in Wyoming winter, The Hateful Eight follows bounty hunter John “The Hangman” Ruth (Kurt Russell) as he transports criminal Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) aboard a stagecoach while encountering mysterious characters wandering the woods. When a bad storm forces the group to spend the night at a Haberdashery until it passes, chaos ensues as a mystery guest there has a hidden agenda for being there.
*Possible spoilers ahead*
Official Cinema Lovers Club Review Coming Soon
Positives: Opening with a classic Ennio Morricone score amongst the greatest of his already mythic career and I’ve ever heard in my filmic tenure – a haunting snow-set omen-filled piece that sets the stage perfectly and deserves its Oscar win 10x over, stunning cinematography with jaw-dropping wintery Wyoming scenes and classic authentic sets and period pieces featuring Old West cabins/carts, gripping storytelling and flawless directing without the need for violence or special effects in the first 2/3 of the movie – classic cinema and grand picture palace quality/storytelling few if ANY modern directors are achieving and delivering like Tarantino, one of the best scorings I’ve EVER heard in my life – easy to see why Moricone won an Oscar for the soundtrack as its topsy-turvy, old-school, varied from mysterious to sweeping and perfectly mirrors the story enhacing the experience, great dialogue & top-notch acting by the remarkable especially Sam L. Jackson and the charismatic Kurt Russell, smart script where every single line of dialogue is crucial to the overarching story and vision and with many political undertones tackling issues like racism and civil vs. frontier justice as well as a PHENOMENALLY executed mystery of eight strangers stuck in a cabin when one or more are murderers, fantastic old world feel and crafting with chapter titles and intermission a Tarantino staple – love love love how Tarantino’s films truly feel like novels in motion, strong humor too and cheeky situations like the broken door in the blizzard and the absurdity of talking through a messenger when five feet away due to racism, great mystery unraveling in who the killer is and reveal at the end no one saw coming, ballsy and respectable decision for Tarantino to make real cinema instead and not care about modern limitations or expectations and make the film he envisions and wants to make
Negatives: A little talky in the beginning before really getting its legs in the 3rd chapter, Tarantino’s penchant for period authenticity and not conforming to modern expectations will undoubtedly not please everyone (uses the n-word and abuse slightly excessively even if that’s how it was at that time) but these should not negatively affect how monumental the rest of the film’s achievement is, big finale a little too brutal in violence
Official CLC Score: 8.8/10
