The April 8 release of Hanna is cinematically exciting, as the film is an engaging story that's carried by some great acting and pulsating action throughout.
Saoirse Ronan
The first time I remember seeing Saoirse Ronan was in the Joe Wright's adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel, Atonement, where she does a superb job portraying a young busy-body girl who sees something she doesn't understand.
However, this time Ronan plays Hanna, a 16-year-old girl who has been living in a Finnish forest with her father. She has spent nearly her entire childhood being trained to assassinate the woman (Cate Blanchett) who killed her mother. Eventually, she decides that she is ready and is dispatched on a mission that takes her across Europe while being tracked by intelligence agents and operatives.
And Ronan does an exceptional job. Due to Hanna's upbringing, she is socially distant yet starving to find a friend; she's intrigued but overwhelmed by modern appliances like TV and electricity; she can spout off lists of facts about things and places but has never used those things or been to those places. Ronan captures this twisting confusion excellently. If a person can believably be a 16-year-old assassin, I believe that Ronan captures this believability.
Eric Bana
Hanna's father, Erik Heller, is portrayed by Eric Bana. From the beginning we know that Heller is perhaps withholding certain tidbits of information from Hanna. His entire focus, as far as the audience can tell, has been to train Hanna to become an unstoppable fighting and killing machine. "Adapt or die," he teaches her.
Bana does an adequate job here. The performance is not as engrossing as his performance in Munich, but it's as solid a performance as we typically see from him in movies where he is not the lead role. Nevertheless, he plays his part well.
Joe Wright
With such films as The Soloist, Pride and Prejudice, and Atonement in his cinematic rear view mirror, Joe Wright is quickly becoming one of my favorite filmmakers.
Hanna, as a whole, is not my favorite of Wright's films. That said, Wright brings his embellishing photographic style to the film while oftentimes using lengthier takes instead of cutting to another shot. Also, the shots tend to add additional psychological layers to the action on screen. He doesn't hold back from doing such things as spinning the camera around in circles. While in some films I've seen these types of things can be frustrating or all together off-putting, Wright finds a way to make them work.
Additionally, the use of sound is perhaps my favorite aspect of this movie. Its use in transitions, off-screen ambiance, and in electrifying the action is nothing less than awesome. The film score by The Chemical Brothers is also quite absorbing.
Hanna Is a Fun and Exciting Flick
I liked this film. It wasn't breathtaking or altogether unique, but it's a movie I'd recommend to those who are looking for a good action movie.
The narrative of the film does a decent enough job. It could have benefited from some additional depth and/or character quirks. It does have a bit of a fairytale feel to the story, but it's something that perhaps could have been used with more profundity.
While I enjoyed the action, cinematography, and Ronan's acting, this film doesn't quite pull me in as well as I would've liked. It's not even my favorite Wright film. However, Wright has directed a well-made action movie. Ronan is superb.
My Final Mark: 7.8 C+
- Cate Blanchett plays Marissa Wiegler, the woman who killed Hanna's mother.
- The MPAA rated this film PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexual material, and language.
- The movie's running time is 111 minutes.
- For more information about Hanna, check out the official Website.
Mark Ritcher II - Currently pursuing MFA in Screenwriting and Film Studies. Received a B.A. in English in 2010.
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