Hanna (2011)

Dir Joe Wright

Written by Seth Lochhead, David Farr

Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett, Tom Hollander, Olivia Williams, Jason Flemyng.

In the frozen forests of Finland, live Erik Heller (Bana) and his teenage daughter Hanna (Ronan). Erik has been training Hanna her whole life to have situational awareness, and be both strong and smart. One day he sets her a task, to go back to civilization and find the woman who wants them dead, Marissa Weigler (Blanchett).

When Marissa discovers that they have both returned, she sets to find them both, and eliminate them, as they both hold a dangerous connection to her past.

Very well made (and little known) film with a stellar cast. There is a brilliant stylistic direction from Wright. He makes great uses of all spectrums of shots, from the heavy indoor action, with quick cuts, to the vast openness of the wilderness that shows expanse of nature. The best example of his brilliant direction is the long take of Erik through the bus terminal and the fight sequence all within one shot. It is also helped that the movie was filmed in the actual locations that the characters are present in, such as Finland, Morocco and Germany.

The performances are all solid, with all the cast doing a tremendous job. Ronan was on a career trajectory after The Lovely Bones is believable here as the almost robotic Hanna, who must stay one step ahead of those who are hunting her. She is (once again) the MVP of this film.

The two Australian adult leads, Bana and Blanchett – each play a character with a different accent than they have naturally. Bana, who is a little underused, puts on a European accent of sorts, and Blanchett puts on a Southern American. Both are good, but they do slip occasionally.

The supporting cast, with such talents as Williams, Flemyng and Hollander (who plays the particularly nasty Isaacs) are all at the top of their game. They are helped by a brilliant screenplay. The ‘twist’ ending might be a little on the nose somewhat, but it does not take away from what the rest of the film was trying to do.

I also really enjoyed the ‘techie’ score that played during the action sequences, as it heightened the urgency of what the characters were going through at the time.

Give this one a watch, I highly recommend.