This week I put on my deer skin jacket, freshened up on my foreign languages and stepped into the fighting shoes of Hanna, an action packed mystery rollercoaster that follows a father and daughter as they run, hide and fight to survive.
Hanna is raised deep in the cold, snowy forest of Finland by her father Erik Hiller. Hiller is an ex-CIA agent in hiding and is training Hanna for the day they both have to fight the past and, as the saying goes in the film, adapt or die.
The film stars Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan as the fearless 16-year-old super soldier Hanna and nails the part on the head. It’s easy to love her character not only because is she more deadly than everyone I know put together, you start to sympathize for her when she finally finds a friend and realizes what parts of life she has been missing out on.
Hanna’s father and ex-CIA agent Erik Hiller is played by Eric Bana. I know Bana doesn’t have the best resume in the business but his performance as Hiller truly beautiful. He brings such passion and emotion to the character it feels less and less like I’m watching him act. In some scenes you can see the physical and emotional stress that his character is going through. I must say, well done Mr. Bana.
Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett plays Marissa Wiegler who is out to hunt and kill Hanna and Erik Hiller. I thought Blanchetts part was merely ok. Blanchett has acted in much more demanding roles like in the film “Elizabeth” where she portrays Queen Elizabeth that her role in Hanna just didn’t impress me. Honestly, I enjoyed watching her sidekicks more than I did her.
Director Joe Wright did a superb job putting together a strong supporting cast which included a flamboyant hit man, an oddball family friend who lives in an abandoned amusement park and a traveling family of free spirits with a daughter Sophie who brings some wonderful comedic relief.
Wright, who also directed the film Atonement which starred the young Saoirse Ronan, used a lot of creative and artistic camera angles and techniques. There are two separate fight scenes that are done in one long continuous shot that doesn’t cut away which blew me away. During a conversation between Hanna and Sophie, Wright uses camera angles and close-ups on the actress’ eyes, lips and skin which bring beauty and intimacy to the scene. He also plays around with lighting to make the fights and chase scenes seem faster and more hectic.
If you couldn’t already tell that I’m in love with this movie, I haven’t even gotten to my favorite part yet. The music. The film features an outstanding original score composed by The Chemical Brothers which brings a light and happy overtone to some of the darker scenes yet the music is comparable to techno and helps keep the pace of the movie fast and almost chaotic. Noise is also used to collaborate with the music. Scenes will start out with noises which then turn into a song. The use of music, sound and noise changes the feeling of the film entirely.
Overall I give Hanna 3.5 techno beats out of 4 because of its great story, acting and the production as a whole. I just ordered a copy of the soundtrack and I can’t wait to see the film again.
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