Revised- “Liar’s Promise”: Lying for the Greater Truth in The Hateful Eight

Who is Major Warren?

We are first introduced to Major Warren in a harsh blizzard in the middle of Wyoming. He has a pipe in his mouth, a cowboy hat on, dark blue uniform pants, and a heavy army coat on. The scene above is introduced through a wide-angle camera shot where the winter storm is seen. Having the camera at eye level allows the audience to see Warren’s full wardrobe and see him associated with three dead bodies. He is searching for a ride down to the city of Red Rock. Marquis Warren was a soldier in the Civil War fighting for the Union. He is a former slave and is now a bounty hunter. John Ruth, a white man with high authority, has a prisoner in his possession and is travelling to receive payment for the capturing of Daisy Domergue. Warren uses persuasion to gain access to a ride on the carriage. In order to receive an ounce of respect, Warren feels the need to obey the orders of Ruth and show the passengers a handwritten letter from President Abraham Lincoln (which later becomes an integral piece of the movie.) However, Domergue from the start does not trust Warren. She claims that the letter is fake. I guess what they say is true; it takes a liar to know a liar.

“I never did give your boy that blanket. Even after all he did, and he did everything I asked. No blanket. That blanket was just a heart breakin’ liar’s promise. Sorta’ like when the union issued those colored troopers uniforms….that you chose not to acknowledge.”- Major Marquis Warren

Sandy Smithers and Major Marquis Warren have a lot of issues rooted to racism and the war. It was interesting to see their tension progress throughout Chapter Three after they realized who they both were. Both men were soldiers during the Civil War fighting for opposing sides. The ultimate question is why did Major Marquis Warren want to kill Smithers the second he figured out who he was? The answer most likely comes down to the hatred between the Confederates and the Union, and specifically what occurred at the Battle of Baton Rouge. This battle marked a pivotal point in the war where there was a Union victory that halted the Confederates from recapturing the capital of Louisiana. Warren, being a former slave affected by so much torment and abuse, has the desire to gain justice. Hence, Marquis Warren got his ultimate revenge after he killed the man who “killed so many negroes.”

In the scene where Major Warren is telling this memory to Sandy Smithers, the two are in the lounging area of Minnie’s Haberdashery. The others are minding their own business; Bob is playing the piano, and Mannix is constantly telling Smithers not to fall for any tricks. Major Warren purposely places his gun next to Smithers before he begins with his story about Chester — Smithers’ son who Warren captured during the war. He is preparing to psychologically manipulate Smithers in order to have him pick up the gun and use it once he cracks. If Smithers has a gun pointed towards Warren, Warren would be allowed to use another gun on him in self-defense. So, he thinks of a disturbing story of making Chester strip naked in the cold weather and do anything he says. As he is talking about sexually assaulting his son in the freezing cold weather, Marquis Warren is laughing. He moves all throughout the room. Also, he displays many hand gestures and is redundant with the fact that Chester Smithers performed sexual favors for him. According to scientific studies, you can tell if a person is lying based on over-compensating, repetitiveness, and pointing[4]. This particular moment in the movie appeals to Smithers’ emotions so heavily that his own brain manipulates the story into thinking it was an actual occurrence. As a result, Smithers is left in fear and shock. His hands are shaking and his eyes are beading out of his head. The second Smithers picks up that gun is the moment Warren completes his ultimate revenge.

This scene is so climactic due to various cinematic reasons. In the foreground, we see out the six-paneled window into the stormy winter. We frequently hear the sharp noise of the wind — a technique used to build suspense. Moreover, the scene goes from tranquility to a bloodbath battlefield in the matter of a few minutes. The picture above allows the audience to feel the emotions that are running through Smithers’ head. His eyes are looking up at Warren, indicating that he is inferior to him at the moment. The cinematic technique of having the camera below Smithers pulls everything together. The close up angle allows the viewers to see every pixel making up his face — we can almost see the perspiration. The nerves are rushing through his body and he is feeling fearsome as he is looking up to Warren (the man in power.)

The scene progresses through the use of diegetic sound in the story space played by Bob on the piano. He is playing “Silent Night” originally composed by Franz Xaver Gruber. Although manipulated into a lullaby, “Silent Night” actually has more history to it. This song was sung by American and German soldiers on the front line during World War I[3]. Being a universal song, many soldiers from different backgrounds would sing it as a carol during Christmas time in the war. An interesting element are the lyrics of the song. “Sleep in heavenly peace” and “wondrous star, lend thy light; with the angels let us sing,” are playing simultaneously as Major Warren is delivering his climactic monologue and about to kill Smithers. These lyrics are appropriate because they almost foreshadow his death; he will soon be asleep in heavenly peace with the presence of angels. Also, the lyrics correspond to major moments in Warren’s story. As Major Warren says “he [Chester] spoke highly of his momma, too,” the verse of “Silent Night” that was just played was “round yon virgin mother and child.”

Execution of a Lie

Lying in itself is an art form; it is a science. Lying requires a deep understanding of facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice. Through a psychological breakdown of every second and sense, Samuel Jackson had to portray a character who had to think steps ahead of his surroundings and other people to stay alive. Major Warren had to constantly think about the lies he told in order to maintain consistency. Research shows, when you lie, brain cells in the prefrontal cortex — the executive of the brain — work harder than when we tell the truth[5].

As a black man during the Civil War period, it was essential for Marquis Warren to master this to escape slavery and death. His lineage and past consists of slavery and all the treatment that came with it. Many slaves even lied about their own capabilities. Slaves were not supposed to know how to read or write. However, we know that in order to get by with just the simplest tasks, it is essential to be literate. Because slaves were referred to as property, they were expected to be incapable of all of the above. There is an interesting skit by Chris Rock where he comically explains the way slaves would behave when it came to knowing how to read. He acts as a slave driving a stagecoach with his owner in it. As he is driving, they approach a stop sign before an intersection. Even though the slave knew how to read, he could not let his owner know that. He purposely ran the stop sign and caused an accident to avoid serious trouble[6]. Many slaves had to resort to drastic measures like this instance just to survive.

Breaking a Lie

In ancient India, people would use the rice test to spot liars[7]. When someone is lying, their sympathetic ‘fight or flight’ nervous system goes into overdrive, leading to a dry mouth. If you could spit out a grain of rice, you were seen to be telling the truth. If your mouth was parched and you could not spit the grain out, you were lying. Without a doubt, it is hard to decode Major Warren’s stories. What is interesting is throughout the movie, multiple characters are constantly sipping on coffee; multiple characters have a lie to tell. In this scene of the movie, Major Warren returns to a cup of coffee twice in the timespan of five minutes. Having something to sip on allows time to think and keep a constant flow of words. There is definitely a mixture of lie and truth for the sole purpose of an end in greater good in this movie.

In the totality of this movie, Tarantino incorporates the language Whites used towards African Americans during the Wild West without intentions of offending anyone. For instance, when character Daisy Domergue is first presented to Major Marquis Warren she casually says “howdy nigger.” This shows that she had absolutely no respect for anyone of color because she did not bother to ask what he does or address him on a first name basis. Tarantino drafted his script in this manner in order to make historical references and even appeal to modern day issues. Racism is definitely a prominent issue in society today. Through excellent dialogue, screenplay, and cinematic techniques, The Hateful Eight turned out to be a box-office success.