Movie: The Hateful Eight

This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.

Don't drink the coffee

Plot Overview

“The Hateful Eight” (2015) opens with snowy vistas, blackbirds taking flight, bare birch trees enduring the wind, and a statue of Jesus on the cross seeming to suffer the indignities of winter along with every­thing else. Behind him in a snowy distance is an approaching smudge that the inter­title defines as: Chapter 1, Last Stage to Red Rock.

A black man in the road halts the Overland Stage, asking, “Got room for one more?” Stagecoach driver O.B. Jackson (James Parks) refers him to passenger John “The Hangman” Ruth (Kurt Russell) who tells him, “Hold it black fellow,” until he recognizes bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson). The Hangman John is bringing his prisoner Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to Red Rock to be hanged (“That $10,000's practically in my pocket”) and he doesn't trust chance encounters on the highway. He warily accepts Warren's company and so does Daisy (“Howdy, nigger!”) They read a curiosity: Warren's “Lincoln letter” crediting him and his race for their service.

Chapter 2, Son of a Gun  has them encountering another would be passenger Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins) who claims to be the new sheriff of Red Rock, though he hasn't got a badge yet. John suspects the two newcomers of being some­how in cahoots until it dawns on him Chris is the youngest son of the leader of the Mannix Marauders who spread havoc after the (Civil) War to keep the blacks in check. He's too much of a racist to partner with Warren, so he's welcomed aboard their “bounty hunters' picnic.” Warren had once burned down Wellenbeck Prison Camp in order to escape, and the Confederates didn't like the loss of life. “Thirty-seven white men for one nigger” didn't cut it for them. The Northerners didn't like the way he seemed to enjoy killing Whites, so there was a bounty on his head. However, he was forgiven on account of his military valor against the indigenous people.

Chapter 3: “Minnie's Haberdashery” is the way station they're making for, being “stuck on the wrong side of a blizzard.” There they meet Red Rock's hang­man Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth) who touts Justice in lieu of “frontier justice” because with the former, hanging is done by a “dispassionate man” (“It's my job.”) They meet a shady loner Joe Gage (Michael Madsen) who's come to Wyoming to “spend time with my mother for Christmas.” They meet Mexican Bob (Demián Bichir) who is running the shop for Minnie now that she's away visiting her own mom, although why Minnie who hates Mexicans would leave her valuable shop in the hands of one is a real puzzler.

“It's about to get cozy for the next few days” as they wait out the storm. Also present is Confederate General Sandy Smithers (Bruce Dern) whom Major Warren doesn't care for on account of him executing black prisoners at the Battle of Baton Rouge where Major Warren also fought. To make peace they all divide the premises into two halves, North & South, with the table in the middle neutral ground. Someone plays “Silent Night” on the piano. The suspicious bounty hunters figure that at least one of the people here is lying about who they are. The clue is in the stew, while that coffee's a killer.

Ideology

The plot plays out along the lines of, (Eccl. 9:1) “that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.” It's hard to divine where their loyalties all lie, whom they love and hate.

(Eccl. 9:2) “All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.” All of them are going to die, whether they're good or bad.

(Eccl. 9:3) “This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.” It's going to get crazy around there as death is dealt out.

(Eccl. 9:4-6) “For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.” Those that aren't expired by the end of the picture will be mortally wounded, but the picture will at least leave them kicking though weakened, a dog rather than a lion, as it were.

(Prov. 26:23) “Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross.” A lot of bs is going to be spewed forth from wicked hearts.

(Prov. 26:24-25) “He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him; When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart.” A lot of deceiving lies.

(Prov. 26:26) “Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation.” The deceivers are going to be revealed.

(Prov. 26:27) “Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.” What goes around comes around. (Eccl. 10:8-9) “He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him. Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt there­with; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.” A lot of bad stuff is going to come back on the instigators.

“Silent Night” is the sole Christmas song we hear, but two teams of six horses add up to twelve reminding us of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” That song was originally intended to secretly convey the catechism when it was illegal to teach it, the eighth day, for example, representing the eight who were saved in Noah's Ark—Noah & 3 sons & all their wives—when God flooded the world on account of their violence and wickedness. Noah preached repentance before the Flood. One way to look at “The Hateful Eight”, cozy together while the storm raged, would be what would have happened if eight wicked guys finagled their way aboard the Ark? There was in the movie a wicked scene involving Major Warren and General Smithers's son and a blanket and an unmention­able act, as was the case in Genesis with Noah and Ham.

As for Lincoln being chummy enough with Warren to write him a letter, President Lincoln in his Emancipation Procla­mation, went on to “hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence unless necessary self-defense.” It seems to me that Major Warren exceeded the "necessary" limit that Lincoln enjoined.

Production Values

This movie, “” (2015) was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demian Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, James Parks, and Chan­ning Tatum. Samuel L. Jackson is out­standing with his multi-dimensional role. Kurt Russell also put in a compel­ling per­form­ance. Walton Goggins was notable. Demián Bichir was one creepy Mexican. Jason Leigh came across as a bitch I'd like to hit, too, if I were prone to. The supporting cast were great.

MPAA rated it R for strong bloody violence, a scene of violent sexual content, language and some graphic nudity. I would also add some sexual perversion to the list. It was filmed in Colorado, USA. Composer Ennio Morri­cone delivered his first western score after a 40 year hiatus. The movie's cinematography was gorgeous, courtesy of cinema­tog­rapher Robert Richardson. Panavision allowed for a wider shot than a standard wide­screen image could have. Much of the action takes place inside the haber­dashery allowing Tarantino to compose his shots like a stage play.

Review Conclusion w/ Christian Recommendation

This is one long, brutal, intense picture with a buildup to the action that is hard to match. The plot is imaginative. It's every­thing I like in a good western that doesn't necessarily stick to formulas. It even had some droll humor. I was really tickled by it. The sensitive might be repulsed, but it's well made … just a matter of taste whether you'll like it.

Movie Ratings

Action factor: Edge of your seat action last half. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Average special effects. Video Occasion: None of the Above. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall product rating: Five stars out of five.