Looking back at this time in history is sobering and painful, but there are some fantastic comedy moments in the seriousness. Shirley's refined, posher life experiences are contrasted with Lip's rough, working class existence. Likewise, Shirley's desire for acceptance and dignity are at odds with Lip's punch-ready background and refusal to budge in his otherness: When Doctor Shirley suggests he uses the easier to pronounce "Valle", Lip tells him that people will call him Vallelonga or nothing at all; while Shirley refuses to stoop to the level that those who abuse him do, Lip is quick to threaten those who are racist to him and eventually to those who are racist to Shirley. This is a time in history where, while Lip is visually white, his Italian name, language and social standing are seen as non-white, "half-n****r" as one police officer says.

While we are confronted with the reality of being a black man in this period, the violence is mostly off camera and the n word only rears its ugly head that one time. A serious topic, this film does present it without being overbearing. Homophobia is also touched on, and in a lovely moment Tony Lip says he's worked at night clubs in New York and that it's nothing new to him. It's over and done with, and the same gender hookup is not treated as an issue or a character defining moment.

Set all across the south of the USA, there are some great ways to show distance and place. Driving scenes feel natural and the amount of scenes featuring two actors in a small car don't feel overused or limited. The use of maps and place name titles give a sense of movement and scale without really making the actual locations the focus. With the other two members of Shirley's trio and Mrs Vallelonga giving outside perspectives and subplots, this is a show of talent in telling the tale of the main pair's journey. With great luck for a true story, their physical journey is the partner to their metaphorical journey to become friends.

Doctor Shirley learns to relax in himself and let himself be 'black' - he goes from uncomfortable socialising with the other black travellers, who are working people, to enjoying a more jazzy jam session in a black bar. More drastic, of course, is Tony Lip's change. From the man who binned two glasses because black men had drank from them, getting to know Doctor Shirley and seeing first hand how the man is treated, he becomes a different man. Relaxed in otherwise all-black spaces, he even ends the film inviting Shirley to his home to meet his still racist family. To think that this is a real story, and that this was a period of two months? The value of this film is amazing. While there are some exposition-heavy, Oscar-bait emotional moments, the whole film is a worthwhile and enjoyable two hours.

Director Yorgos Lanthimos also directed notably weird films The Killing of the Sacred Deer, The Lobster, and Dogtooth. His style comes through with the title cards, one titled "This Mud Stinks" and another "I Dreamed I Stabbed You In The Eye", and some enchantingly wide-angle lens shots distorting rooms and people. The title cards and credits have an interesting ultimately-justified spacing choice, separating letters to the edges of lines; aesthetically good but unfortunately unreadable.

The story is of contrasts; the soft and kindhearted Abigail and her dark life, Abigail's kindness and the cruelness of those around her, her kindness and her descent into cruelty; the kindness and cruelty of Sarah to both Abigail and Queen Anne; the mix of love and abuse between the couples; the tragedy and rage of Queen Anne; the difference between the cousins Sarah and Abigail in their fight to be the titular favourite of Queen Anne.

The tragedy of Queen Anne's character is masterfully depicted by Olivia Colman. The pain of her disability and seventeen lost children strongly affect her actions and explain to us, the audience, her otherwise irrational behaviour. Even as she dismisses important issues and hurts people for her own gain, she is a sad figure clearly acting out of pain. Her transferred motherly affection to her rabbits is mistreated by her lovers, and the moment near the end where Abigail cruelly presses on one rabbit with her foot was shocking to me; the callousness Sarah has towards Anne's lost children was an early indicator she was not also wholly on the side of the Queen.

Other animal abuse shown is the repeated motif of Sarah and Abigail shooting birds together; one moment has a bird shot too close and blood spatter on white clothing. While not too gory, there is also a scene of a horse riding accident and the battered face it gives the victim. The sexual content also teeters around the concept of consent, and both the word and concept of rape are thrown wantonly by characters (but not out of story context). The strange title cards are also sudden and the music deliberately jarring; while far from arthouse, it was surprising to see such a weird film in the cinema.

There are long, uncomfortable close ups with no action to highlight long, uncomfortable silences, and the film just ends with a sudden cut after a long build up. The music also ends mid credits, leaving the way for ambient sounds; both the ending and this lack of music makes you feel more is coming, but there is no post credit scene. The story being told is complete but, as life and history, it carries on after the narrative.

With strong, engaging themes, this is either the weirdest film you will enjoy or a pleasant jump into history or romance for your weirdness. Apart from the historical realism enforcing secrecy and shame, the lesbian theme is casual and the female characters take the foreground and strong and successful - the cheating is more shocking than the fact they are both women, and class is more of a factor than gender, with the male characters nonplussed to treat women as intellectually and power-wise as equal players.

This received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Lead Actor (Female), Best Supporting Actor (Female) twice, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design and Best Costume Design. It deserves them, as it really is outstanding. The big screen is best for those warping wide angles, so catch it in the cinema while you can.

The plot is mostly linear, with occasional and clear flashback scenes, and takes place over a couple of days in one large room. The mysterious back stories, goals and even identities of the characters all build into the larger mystery as the one-room mystery meets gritty western. You know less than the main characters and piece things together slowly, suspecting them themselves as much as you follow their suspicion of others. Every small plot twist is sudden and unexpected, but reveals much about the previous events.

By the end of the film you'll be arguing with yourself about which characters are the real hateful eight - by the start of the main plot there are nine characters present, for one thing. No character is particularly likable, except some minor characters in flashbacks, but this film teeters between having a wholly hateful cast and justifying or minimising the hatefulness of some. Easily defined characters are not what Hateful is really going for, despite it's title, and the nuance of their hatefulness makes each character believable and intriguing.

If you're a diehard Tarantino fan, or watching because you admire his individual style, this isn't going to be your favourite of his films, but it is a great film. It's quite the filmography to live up to, and it deserves it's place. Seeing a Tarantino film in the cinema was a personal goal, having a blood phobia as I do, but the violence might mean this is better suited for home viewing.