The Hateful Eight
11/02/17 Filed in: Amazon Prime
I missed this film when it was on at the cinema and we caught up with it on Amazon Prime this week. It's classic Tarantino: lots of violence and blood but with an underlying humour throughout. As Mark Kermode said in his Observer review, "Hard to hate but tough to love."
It's a long film presented in 'chapters', the first of which is 'Last Stage to Red Rock.' As the stagecoach crosses the breathtaking winter landscape, magnificently filmed, it encounters Major Marquis Warren, a bounty hunter with three corpses to transport. At this point we're also introduced to the passengers in the stagecoach, John 'Hangman' Ruth, and his prisoner, Daisy Domergue. After a bit of negotiation, and with an obvious reluctance, Ruth agrees to Warren accompanying them. The reluctance is because Ruth's passion for bringing prisoners in alive, so they can hang, exposes him to far greater risk than if he were to bring them in dead.
Further along the road they encounter and pick up Chris Mannix, a former confederate marauder who claims to be the new Sheriff of Red Rock, a claim rubbished by Ruth who regards him more as a criminal than a lawman. This 'yes I am, no you're not' banter continues between the two of them.
As the coach makes its way, trying desperately to outrun a blizzard, we're treated to a greater insight into its occupants, and also some gratuitous violence by Ruth towards Daisy. To him she's a murderer who deserves no special womanly treatment. In time they arrive at Minnie's Haberdashery, an isolated outpost that receives weary travellers. One is bound to ask why there would be a haberdashery store in the middle of nowhere.
It's a long film presented in 'chapters', the first of which is 'Last Stage to Red Rock.' As the stagecoach crosses the breathtaking winter landscape, magnificently filmed, it encounters Major Marquis Warren, a bounty hunter with three corpses to transport. At this point we're also introduced to the passengers in the stagecoach, John 'Hangman' Ruth, and his prisoner, Daisy Domergue. After a bit of negotiation, and with an obvious reluctance, Ruth agrees to Warren accompanying them. The reluctance is because Ruth's passion for bringing prisoners in alive, so they can hang, exposes him to far greater risk than if he were to bring them in dead.
Further along the road they encounter and pick up Chris Mannix, a former confederate marauder who claims to be the new Sheriff of Red Rock, a claim rubbished by Ruth who regards him more as a criminal than a lawman. This 'yes I am, no you're not' banter continues between the two of them.
As the coach makes its way, trying desperately to outrun a blizzard, we're treated to a greater insight into its occupants, and also some gratuitous violence by Ruth towards Daisy. To him she's a murderer who deserves no special womanly treatment. In time they arrive at Minnie's Haberdashery, an isolated outpost that receives weary travellers. One is bound to ask why there would be a haberdashery store in the middle of nowhere.
When they arrive there is no sign of Minnie or her staff, the place being occupied by an odd assortment of men, non of whom come across as being what they say they are, with the exception of General Sandy Smithers, a confederate officer from the recent civil war. In fact much of the animosity in the room arises from the aftermath of the war. Major Warren (an ex Union officer) is immediately suspicious of the situation, the explanation for Minnie's absence not washing with him at all. One of those in the cabin is Señor Bob, a Mexican who supposedly is looking after the place in Minnie's absence. As Warren points out, Minnie used to have a sign over the bar saying no dogs or Mexicans, and it was only taken down when she starting allowing dogs in - Mexicans were still off limits.
Basically nobody trusts anybody else, and it isn't long before the first bodies start to fall. Somebody, only known to Daisy, poisons the coffee, thus we say goodbye to Ruth and the coach driver. Their deaths aren't pleasant! After this, tension is high and the inevitable showdown occurs when Warren confronts those among whom he suspects is the poisoner, swiftly dispensing of Señor Bob, who he clearly never liked. However, there is an unseen surprise for Warren beneath the floorboards, which leads to the tables being turned, albeit very briefly.
At about this time we're treated to a flashback that explains what transpired in the Haberdashery before the coach arrived, this being no less horrific than the events that we have already witnessed. I won't give too much detail as this would spoil it should you decide to watch the film. And so we move to the denouement, with much carnage along the way and a less than certain future for the survivors.
The cast of this film is first class, with Jennifer Jason Leigh winning an Oscar for her performance as Daisy. There were also Oscars for the score by Ennio Morricone and cinematography by Robert Richardson. All in all the film took 36 awards and received 177 nominations across the industry. Samuel L Jackson plays Major Marquis Warren, Kurt Russell is John Ruth and Walton Goggins gives a superb performance as 'Sheriff' Chris Mannix.
Basically nobody trusts anybody else, and it isn't long before the first bodies start to fall. Somebody, only known to Daisy, poisons the coffee, thus we say goodbye to Ruth and the coach driver. Their deaths aren't pleasant! After this, tension is high and the inevitable showdown occurs when Warren confronts those among whom he suspects is the poisoner, swiftly dispensing of Señor Bob, who he clearly never liked. However, there is an unseen surprise for Warren beneath the floorboards, which leads to the tables being turned, albeit very briefly.
At about this time we're treated to a flashback that explains what transpired in the Haberdashery before the coach arrived, this being no less horrific than the events that we have already witnessed. I won't give too much detail as this would spoil it should you decide to watch the film. And so we move to the denouement, with much carnage along the way and a less than certain future for the survivors.
The cast of this film is first class, with Jennifer Jason Leigh winning an Oscar for her performance as Daisy. There were also Oscars for the score by Ennio Morricone and cinematography by Robert Richardson. All in all the film took 36 awards and received 177 nominations across the industry. Samuel L Jackson plays Major Marquis Warren, Kurt Russell is John Ruth and Walton Goggins gives a superb performance as 'Sheriff' Chris Mannix.