Control Review: Hateful Eight

I, Dalton Lewis, watched a Quentin Tarantino movie from six years ago, a Western starring Kurt Russell and Samuel L. Jackson. In it they play bounty hunters trying to deliver bounties to Red Rock when a blizzard waylays them at a saloon or hotel or something for a few days with six other people. One of the bounties, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, is alive. The game is afoot. Some people want to kill other people. Murder ensues — a lot of murder ensues, and it’s supposed to be a surprise who has which actual motivation. I can honestly say that I didn’t predict who was on which side correctly. I watched the movie from the shelter of my home in suburban Chicago. I have a space heater for the cold. I don’t have to deal with the cold the way those characters had to deal with the cold in the 19th century. I didn’t have that.

This movie develops an interesting setting. The door needs to be nailed shut with two pieces of wood or the wind will blow it open. There’s coffee in one corner. There’s candies high up on a shelf. There’s a chess board in the middle with one person near the chess board but no opponent. What happened to the opponent? There’s a fireplace and some warm blankets to put on yourself when you are cold. There’s stew when you are hungry, and there’s liquor when you are that kind of thirsty.

The characters are interesting and unique and not necessarily good. There’s a southern general whose son has died. A southern mercenary wants to be sheriff of Red Rock and befriends the general. A man, Joe Gage, says that he just herds cows. He stays quiet. There’s a man who says that he hangs people and speaks with a British accent. Then there’s the Mexican gentleman who may or may not be legitimately running the hotel.

This movie deals with social and political anxieties about race and politics while also telling a story about crime and its punishment. It has a cast of seven or so characters with differing opinions on the black character played by Samuel L. Jackson. They want a bounty on his head, or they want to make fun of him, or they hate him, or they call him names, or they are scared, or they are curious, or they don’t know what to think of him.

What is the difference between this and most movies — movies devoid of art? Most movies don’t have the depth of characterization that this story has. They have clearly defined good guys fighting against clearly defined bad guys, and everyone knows who is on which side. In this movie everyone is a level of bad. The level of detail and the development of the conversations is a level above that of most pulp movies.

Quentin Tarantino makes art through his elevated sense of style, character, setting, and strong plot twists. He also rarely employs a traditional good guy beats bad guy sort of easy structure to his stories. I recommend watching The Hateful Eight if you enjoy a slow burn or like stories which are works of art or stories with intelligent characters maneuvering against each other. Highly recommended.

Thanks, and take care, friends.