Quentin Tarantino Left The Answer To A Hateful Eight Mystery Up To Walton Goggins
After watching a Quentin Tarantino movie, there's always a good chance you will walk away from it with an unanswered question or two. In "Pulp Fiction," it's never revealed what was in the glowing briefcase Jules and Vern pick up at the film's beginning. "Reservoir Dogs" leaves the fate of Mr. Pink ambiguous at the end of the film, never outright confirming the character's death. In "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," the circumstances surrounding the death of Cliff Booth's wife are left a mystery (unless you read the novelization). Tarantino has seemingly struck a delicate balance when crafting the world of his films. Either the director creates intricate and highly detailed backstories that leave no stone unturned (the Rick Dalton biography speaks for itself), or he prefers to leave select details entirely up to interpretation.
"The Hateful Eight" is a prime example of the latter, as the Western thriller creates a tense atmosphere of distrust that makes viewers unsure if anyone is speaking the truth. The film revolves around bounty hunter John "The Hangman" Ruth (Kurt Russell) who takes shelter in a cabin during a blizzard with his captive criminal "Crazy" Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and several other strangers who are not what they seem. One such character is Walton Goggins' Chris Mannix, who claims to be the Sheriff of Red Rock, where John Ruth is taking Daisy to be hung. Mannix constantly brings up his position as Sheriff but never gives conclusive proof that it's true. If you're curious whether it is or isn't, it's entirely up to the actor who plays him: Walton Goggins.
'I need you to figure out the answer'
Throughout the movie, various moments are revealed to be the product of lies and deceit. Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) flashes around a letter from Abraham Lincoln that's revealed to be fake. Tim Roth's character, Oswaldo Mobray, is shown to go by an entirely different name halfway through the film and even changes his accent to go with his true identity of "English Pete." With all of the manipulation and trickery at play, no one would blame you if you didn't believe that Mannix was the new Sheriff of Red Rock and only said so to save himself from dying in a blizzard. However, the answer to that mystery is up to Walton Goggins, as he said in a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone that Tarantino left it up for him to decide:
"I only had one question for Quentin: 'Is Mannix really the sheriff of Red Rock? Is that a bluff?' And his reply was: 'I need you to figure out the answer and never tell me what it is.' That was all I needed to know. And he never asked. He may be the only person to date who hasn't asked me that."
There's something innately cool about Tarantino not wanting to know the true history of a character. It's a refreshing departure from franchise films wanting to answer everything. Moreover, Goggins not giving a concrete answer gives viewers their own power over the story when watching it.
Next time you watch "The Hateful Eight" and see Mannix proudly using his "power" as Sheriff to hang Daisy, you can decide if it's a character sold on his own lie or the shortest term in office for a Sheriff in history.