Review of Hanna (2011) by Logan M — 15 Apr 2016

Part action thriller and part coming-of-age drama, Hanna sounds like a film that shouldn't work, which makes it all the more refreshing and surprising that it actually does. Those two storytelling types couldn't be more different, but the way Joe Wright manages to blend them together in this film is quite fascinating, and makes for a rather compelling story.

In a way, it's also very dreamlike: between the plot with hints of fairy tale elements and the European settings that often fell secluded, the film has a very unique flair that not many other films have captured.

Wright captures the action smoothly, with a standout sequence being a single take tracking shot and eventual fight scene with Eric Bana's character. The strongest point of Hanna is, well, Hanna herself, played by Saoirse Ronan.

Seventeen-year-old Ronan completely holds the film on her shoulders, and balances the "hardened assassin" side and the "girl learning of the world for the first time" side of her character perfectly.

Cate Blanchett is also fantastic as the antagonist, a kind of role she doesn't seem to play often enough. She's ruthless, and completely fun as a result. There's not anything else quite like this one: Hanna is truly unique.