Review: Hanna

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who had been kept hidden from the world by her father for her own safety. You see this girl was special and there was an evil CIA agent looking for them. So her father taught the girl everything he knew so when the time came she would be able to defend herself. With this crazy premise, a score by The Chemical Brothers, and an amazingly talented cast, this European-techno-rave-CIA-fairy tale-music video-revenge-thriller from the director of such action heavy films as Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, and The Soloist is completely out of the ordinary, which is what makes it so damn cool.

And trust me Hanna is a damn cool movie. In fact some may argue that the only thing going for it is the overwhelming style that Joe Wright has brought to this revenge fairy tale. That would be underselling some of the great things that make this film work so well. But before I get to that let's talk about the style for a minute.

Full of crazy camera angles, fast cuts and a heart pounding score by the aforementioned Chemical Brothers, Hanna is nothing without this style. Action scenes last less then you would expect given the marketing for this film and yet they all feel extremely furious and kinetic. Moments skip beats and even play off the music which is used particularly well in the films first major action scene, playing into both the fairy tale and music video vibe at the same time. It's jarring at first but take the entire film by the throat and chokes every single ever loving drop of energy out of it. There was not a single moment where I didn't feel the exact emotions pour off the screen be it tension, loss, or exhilaration.

This is coupled with the set designs being very ethereal and having a storybook quality to them, albeit one that comes from a quite screwed up storybook. They do have a couple of places that look more grounded in a reality we can understand but even those keep a consistent tone and feel to everything else.

However, none of this would work with out two other important things; and great screenplay written by David Farr & Seth Lochhead, and a cast able to pull out the emotions and weight need behind every scene. For seemingly first time feature film screenwriters Hanna is a great debut. It has the style and tone of many different genres yet hands them well enough to not feel out of place, while also finding the human and funny moments of a girl trying to find out who or what she is.

Not enough can be said about Saoirse Ronan as she deftly carries this film and balances between the little girl who never had a childhood and the cold, calculating assassin that could kill with a look. She is the heart and soul of the film and I believe this the breakout role for the 15 year old actress. She is also thankfully surrounded by an exceptional supporting cast with Eric Bana as her ex-CIA father and some equally great villains.

Tom Hollander's crazy German nightclub owner hired to find Hanna and her father is so cool he even gets his own theme that he whistles whenever he pops onto screen and Cate Blanchett as the evil CIA witch that has been tracking her across the globe. A fairy tale needs a great evil to be the foil for our hero and Blanchett does a fantastic job being the most completely evil witch she can be with no remorse or compassion. She strikes fear into her lackeys and is constantly planning one step ahead making her presence felt at all time times, striking fear and terror into the audience that something bad is about to happen.

Hanna works on more than just style. It has wit, charm, and have I mentioned a score composed by The Chemical Brothers, well it's great and with all the competing tones it's a wonder this film doesn't completely fall flat on it's face. The performances from Ronan and Blanchett specifically do wonders to elevate the film that would have faltered in lesser hands. One of the best action movies I have seen in a long time and damn sure one of the coolest and best films so far this year.

5/5