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The Hateful Eight (Film Review)
Feb. 14th, 2016 08:24 amI'm trying to find the right word here - probably the most nihilistic thing Tarantino has ever done? Or maybe that should be "bleakest"? (But "bleak" to me associates not the violent revelry in death this becomes.) Anyway, he's not kidding with the title. Every single character not appearing solely in a flashback, including Samuel Jackson's, is vile. (Actually, hold that thought: O.B. the coachman never does anything hateful on screen, and several of the other characters are impressed by his decency, but then, ( spoilery information )).
As to one of the issue I've most seen debated: whether or not the treatment of the sole main female character, Daisy (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh), is misogynistic: I'm torn. On the one hand, Daisy is never sexualized. The actress is wearing exactly the same kind of bulky frontier winter gear the male characters do, her figure is never showcased, and at no point does any of the male characters either verbally or physically threaten, let alone execute, sexual violence on her. Nothing happens to her that would not happen if she were a male character. (If she were, you wouldn't get the early scene where one character asks another whether the idea of hanging a woman doesn't bother him, but otherwise, the story would remain the same.) On the other hand: ( A few remarks on the non-sexual violence Daisy is subjected to versus the one she deals out, and the implication of this for me. )
Another observation: travelling the next for reviews, I've seen several mentioning laughing and cheering at two of the standout sequences, the one immediately preceding the interlude (this is a movie with a break in between), and during the final showdown near the end. Nothing like this happened in the cinema I was in. The audience just sat there in stunned silence in both cases. I'm wondering how much or little depends on cultural context here. ( Spoilers for the sequence preceding the interlude, one of Tarantino's standout monologues written for Samuel Jackson. ) Both Jackson and Dern (who remains silent throughout and just conveys his reaction with his face and especially his eyes, which Tarantino shows in ever more detailed close up) are outstanding in it. I don't think I'll ever be able to watch it again; same goes for the entire film.
As it turns out, I still have a few squicks or limits left in my capacity for watching fictional violence (both physical and emotional).
As to one of the issue I've most seen debated: whether or not the treatment of the sole main female character, Daisy (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh), is misogynistic: I'm torn. On the one hand, Daisy is never sexualized. The actress is wearing exactly the same kind of bulky frontier winter gear the male characters do, her figure is never showcased, and at no point does any of the male characters either verbally or physically threaten, let alone execute, sexual violence on her. Nothing happens to her that would not happen if she were a male character. (If she were, you wouldn't get the early scene where one character asks another whether the idea of hanging a woman doesn't bother him, but otherwise, the story would remain the same.) On the other hand: ( A few remarks on the non-sexual violence Daisy is subjected to versus the one she deals out, and the implication of this for me. )
Another observation: travelling the next for reviews, I've seen several mentioning laughing and cheering at two of the standout sequences, the one immediately preceding the interlude (this is a movie with a break in between), and during the final showdown near the end. Nothing like this happened in the cinema I was in. The audience just sat there in stunned silence in both cases. I'm wondering how much or little depends on cultural context here. ( Spoilers for the sequence preceding the interlude, one of Tarantino's standout monologues written for Samuel Jackson. ) Both Jackson and Dern (who remains silent throughout and just conveys his reaction with his face and especially his eyes, which Tarantino shows in ever more detailed close up) are outstanding in it. I don't think I'll ever be able to watch it again; same goes for the entire film.
As it turns out, I still have a few squicks or limits left in my capacity for watching fictional violence (both physical and emotional).
