Hanna, the new film from director Joe Wright, is a visually stunning piece of film making, in which a talented cast of current and rising stars play out a truly twisted fairy tale. Though the movie does lose itself in its own rabbit hole towards the end, the wacked-out, creative jolt that comes before makes the movie totally worth the price of admission.
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Joe Wright, director of the vastly under appreciated Atonement, presents the story of Hanna, a young girl who is raised in the woods by her father to kill the woman who killed her mother. Tangled this is not. But Wright has assembled a cast that understands their role in this upside down wonderland. Hanna is played to perfection by Saoirse Ronan. The young girl is a completely believable mix of deadly precision and youthful wonderment. Again, Ronan proves that she is a formidable talent. As well, the consistently under-utilized Eric Banna employs a great combination of heart and bravado, in playing the father that has protected Hanna from the outside world for so long. Of course, no fairy tale would be complete without an evil witch and her grotesque minions. Cate Blanchett steps into the evil stepmother role with a cold-hearted, southern-tinged panache that is devilishly good. At the same time, Tom Hollander delivers an engagingly maniacal performance, as the head henchman Issacs. Hollander manages to steal every scene he is in, simultaneously repulsing and attracting the viewer. The rest of the cast is quite engaging, from the young girl (Jessica Barden) who plays Hanna's only friend, to the magical elf-esque character created by Martin Wuttke, the actors all seem to be synced into Wright's odd wavelength.
Wright himself is a force to be reckoned with behind the camera. The first three quarters of the film seem as though every shot and every moment have been meticulously imagined by the director. This attention to detail and adherence to tone result in some of the most awe-inspiring cinematography in recent memory (James Cameron eat your heart out). Of course this occasionally means that proceedings seems overly mannered. That said, there are countless sequences in which the audience sits flabbergasted simply trying to take in the visual showcase that Mr. Wright has concocted. This ocular feast is complimented greatly by the Chemical Brother's pitch perfect score score. Though largely techno-based, the score adds genuine intensity to proceedings, the pounding bass and synthetic textures juxtaposing nicely with eerie silences. However, Wright's Hanna is far from flawless. Towards the middle of the film, the pacing seems to fall behind, losing focus on the events at hand. This is quickly rectified, but the conclusion of the film is simply lacking. Where the earlier proceedings seemed to adhere to some sort of absurd logic, the final act just happens. Characters motivations become blurred and their decision making seems weak at best. It's a shame because if Wright and company had nailed the ending, providing some sort of powerful statement, they would have created a new age action classic. Still, for those willing to accept it's clear imperfections Hanna provides a unique film going experience.
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Taking all of these factors together the viewer is left with a movie that is equal parts Grimm's fairy tale, Jason Bourne, and Stanely Kubrick. An action movie with foreign film sensibilities. A coming of age story in the world of assassins. A techno infused tale of innocence lost. It's an engagingly weird film, that is almost certainly destined for cult classic status in the coming years. Hanna, is not for everybody, but if you enjoy movies that are a little different, a little off, and a little twisted then I say go for it. Everyone else, you've been warned.
Source Code, the recently released sci-fi thriller from Moon director Duncan Jones, is built around the premise that one man can essentially go back in time to try find the perpetrator of a deadly terrorist attack. Jake Gyllenhaal's hero has eight minutes at a time to accomplish his mission. If only the last three minutes of the movie didn't spoil the whole affair.
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Science fiction films are generally built around the fantastic and the improbable, occupying the grey area between modern scientific possibilities and glorified magic. Source Code is no different. The movie takes place in a reality in which military technology allows individuals with particular medical traits to relive past events through other people's memories. This technology, the titular "Source Code," is what Gyllenhaal's Colter Stevens uses to continually relive eight minutes before a horrific attack on a Chicago bound train, in order to discern who committed the crime. In actuality, the movie plays out like an action packed version of GroundhogDay, but Duncan Jones, along with his talented cast, make sure that the journey is both visually stunning and (somewhat surprisingly) emotionally grounded. Jake Gyllenhaal, as the movie's protagonist, is excellent, providing just the right mixture of confusion and charisma to carry such a potentially ridiculous idea. He also gets some great help from his supporting cast. Michele Monghan's Christina is an affable romantic foil to Stevens, while Vera Farmiga brings a motherly depth to the role of Steven's military handler. Even Jeffery Wright, (SPOLER ALERT) is able to make his cliched semi-villain rise slightly above convention by playing him with a simmering intensity. Though the cast does a commendable job much credit for this film's success rests in director Duncan Jones' ability to keep the action moving while continually the audience interested through twists and reveals. One can easily complain the Jones' approach to the film grows a little repetitive, especially since we see basically the same shot every time we enter the source code. However, any short comings in this stylistic choice are easily forgiven in light of some truly inventive moments behind the camera. Jones' seems to have strong grasp of how to employ is CGI trickery, and as a result he consistently provides some great visual sequences for audiences to enjoy. These moments are heightened even further by Chris Bacon's score which is manages to seem retro and modern at the same time. Overall, the film maintains a tone somewhere between the dark paranoia of last year's Inception and the clear cut romanticism of this year's The Adjustment Bureau. Well, until the end. It's not clear who to blame for this total failure of a conclusion. It seems to me that the movie was built to end a few moments earlier than it actually does. Jones' provides an excellent final shot to end the action, but suddenly the film chooses to continue on. Sure enough the final minutes almost manage to sour the entire experience. Almost. As it stands, Source Code is a respectable entry into the sci-fi action genre, that I imagine most people will enjoy. Still, with a stronger hand in the editing suite this could have been something more.
Grade: B
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If you've seen the movie and would like to read more on the debate over the ending, Cinematical has a great article for your consideration.
