I'd been looking forward to seeing Hanna after I first saw the trailer for it. Director James Wright got some critical acclaim a few years ago with the award winning movie Atonement. While Atonement wasn't my favorite movie of that year, it certainly was a good movie. Especially, the acting of then 13 year old Saoirse Ronan. Now, a few years and a few big movies later, Ronan reunites with James Wright to play the title character of this movie. Along with accomplished actors Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett, they craft an interesting movie that I think is much better than anyone would expect it to be.
Hanna (Saoirse Ronan... coolest name ever. Means 'Freedom' in Gaelic) is a young girl who has been raised away from civilization in the icy tundra of Finland. Her father (Eric Bana) is a rogue CIA agent that separated himself and his daughter from society in order to teach her everything she needs in order to survive the eventual confrontation with Marissa Ziegler (Cate Blanchett). Ziegler was a sort of handler from Bana's Erik Heller.
There are two main strong points in the movie that I think should be mentioned. One is the acting from the cast all around. The three leads play their parts perfectly. Bana does the stern but caring father who wants nothing more than to get revenge but at the same time do what he knows Hanna will have to end up doing for herself. Blanchett is the cold and corrupt government agent that has one more thing she needs to do to finish her mission (the scene with Blanchett and Hanna's 'grandmother' is especially strong and fitting for the character). Ronan looks around in bewilderment as she hears music for the first time and sees television for the first time. The wonder and fear can be seen in her eyes. I also have to mention great support from Olivia Williams and Jason Flemyng as well as Tom Hollander as the damn creepy Isaacs.
Now, this is an action movie in the end, and the action in it works. I was worried because Wright was mainly a drama director, but the action scenes are stylish and interesting without going completely overboard.
Listen to me while reading the review!
The music is really awesome. The Chemical Brothers did the whole soundtrack and it is an exciting one. It fits perfectly with the movie and makes for some nice listening.
I'm heaping a lot of praise on this movie now, but when I left the theater, I sort of only saw some of the bad things that it has. For example, I know they were trying to draw a parallel between the movie and a Grimm's fairy tale. So much so that some of the most interesting parts occur in a weird house with plastic dinosaurs in the backyard and a creepy although entertaining character that should have gotten some more screen time. This seems a bit heavy handed and maybe they should have let it flow a little more naturally.
Another thing that bugged me was the scene with Hanna and this annoying girl she meets called Sophie. She is the around the same age as Hanna and sort of becomes her 'mentor' when it comes to the life outside of what Hanna was used to. Well in this scene Hanna reveals that she is different from other people and while its good to see her sharing about herself with someone, the scene is strangely shot and drags a bit in a part of the movie that by itself drags a little bit. Maybe trimming the fat a little bit would have helped(but this is just me nit-picking).
In the end, this is not a typical brain-dead action movie. Its an interesting concept that works well because of great performances, a nice soundtrack and some nice stylish action scenes. Check it out.
8 out of 10
I completely agree with you about the amount of action put into the movie. It was perfect, especially for someone as intolerant as I am with "dumbed-down" Hollywood action films.
ReplyDeleteFor some, the beginning of the movie might have seemed a bit slow, but in my opinion it was a great way to introduce the main characters.
I didn't make that connection between this movie and Atonement, but now that you mentioned it the similarities are obvious. In both movies, the intense focus on facial expressions makes long periods of silence become just as important as verbal dialogue. This is a characteristic that I adore, if done well.
When Sophie first appeared on the screen I was expecting the worst, but later found her bitchy yet friendly remarks a very good source (if not the only source) of comedy in the movie.
As for the circus-ish playground with the wierd old man, I believe that's an abandoned theme park in western Berlin, near Potsdam. I think I saw it on the Travel Channel either on Samantha Brown's "Passport To Europe", or Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" when one of them went to Berlin. Which Grimm's fary tale were they attempting to copy? Did it have to do with the way they hung the circus man from the ceiling , or Marissa's "cat'n'mouse" persecution of Hanna?
You know, I find myself praising this movie quite a lot, and it's been a while since that's happenned ("V for Vendetta" was the last, I think). Perhaps it's because it caught me completely by surprise, I was literally preparing myself for another mainstream, predictable Hollywood movie (sorry if I sound a bit snobish). Honestly, the only thing that bothered me during the whole movie was the uncomfortable seat of the movie theater!
P.S. This is Greg, by the way, I forgot my google account address and password (the one with the 'high' Zac G. face as a profile pic).
Oh! And did I mention the awesome country-hopping and flamenco-dancing scenes? A huge plus in my opinion!
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