Movie Review: "Hanna"

Hanna

Directed by: Joe Wright

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana, Tom Hollander
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexual material, and language

Whenever he decided to helm the child-assassin thriller Hanna, most of his loyal fans (myself included) thought it was an odd choice. For a filmmaker who has flourished on artistic human dramas (including The Soloist, Pride and Prejudice, and Atonement), it was a shock to go to a genre that traditionally doesn’t deal with deep human emotions and artistic detail. Despite the genre switch, Wright’s cinematic brilliance comes through again, and the film is one of the most unique action thrillers I’ve seen. The color, settings, characterizations, cinematography, and soundtrack is mesmerizing, almost as if you are watching a CIA fairy tale. Even the actors, from the young and isolated Hanna (Saoirse Ronan), to the sinister-yet-dentally -concerned Merissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett), to her perverted henchman (Tom Hollander, a regular in Joe Wright films), the acting is extraordinary. And yet, as incredible as it may appear, the quality is wasted on a product that is both unemotional and says very little. For a film as interesting and unique as Joe Wright’s Hanna is, you would expect it to mature into something great. In the end, Hanna’s story remains childish and silly at best.