Another day, and another film placed under the microscope for your consumption. Today's outing is the Joe Wright (Atonement, Pride and Prejudice) directed Hanna.
The story is hard to explain without hitting the wall of spoilers, but the basic plot is following a 16 year old assassin and her run ins with generic deadly people etc etc.
Nothing new on the surface then it seems, yet when you watch the film you'll be surprised to see most of the run-time follows Hanna as she explores the world and develops friendships and revels in new experiences. And it is here that Hanna breaks away from stereotypes of the past. This sudden change in dynamic of the tale does not at all feel unnecessary, and the action viewers were lead to expect is barely missed as it packs its bags and trots off into the sunset.
However the story itself will not hold hordes of viewers expecting carnage not seen since the last mind-numbing explosion fest, and it is here that the acting of the cast comes into it's own. We have some experienced pros at play (Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett) but we also have the always tenuous moment of a relative unknown taking the lead (Saorise Ronan), supporting to whole film on her shoulders. And it must be clearly established, that you barely notice the strain from all that weight, her performance is flawless for the character she is portraying, perfectly fusing both the persona's through the film so the transition from wide eyed innocence to action Heroine feels entirely practical.
When action finally decides to rear its head throughout the film, the combat feels fresh and untapped due to Hanna (When was the last time you saw a 16 year old girl knife slash someone to death on screen?) which helps to prevent any aspect of the film feeling stale, or already explored.
Add that to magnificent location choices, a believable and well executed storyline, and a brilliantly created atmosphere and you have another film that is likely to fall under the radar with many, but if you take a chance on it you probably won't be disappointed.
The best bit: definitely the perfect circle created from the introduction of the film and it's direct relation to the end (make sure you follow the dialogue of the very start of the film closely!)
-James
First I've heard of this film. Good review :)
ReplyDeleteComma splice in paragraph four O.o
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOh dear! Thanks for pointing that out! Some mistake always slips through
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it though, always nice to know people enjoy them :)
-James