Review of Hanna (2011) by Spencer S — 31 Dec 2013

Mixing together the fetish details of fairy tales and the rogue Euro-friendly devices of action films, "Hanna" is a deceptively overdone genre of film that gives a few groans and a few shudders.

The premise of the film is enticing, framing a young girl (Ronan), outlawed by society and made to be a weapon of destruction by her father (Bana) in the German wilderness. She has no social queues, no indicators of normality, and also fights with complete loyalty towards her father.

There's a larger conspiracy at work between her father and several secret government organizations. We only get a taste for what this conspiracy is, in the first twenty minutes of the film, which spurs the action and drives the characters intuitions.

The face of the evil organization is Agent Marissa Heller (Blanchett) a mysterious woman who seems to have an unbreakable tie to Hanna and her father. She hunts them down, and we're not completely sure whether or not she really is the evil entity that Erik (Bana) supposes, until we're farther into the film.

Instead of being a cat and mouse tete a tete, the film mostly follows Hanna as she adjusts to a wandering life, often co-mingling with an Australian family on holiday. Her interactions with the children and parents take up a large section of the film, and she rarely has to fight the gang of assassins that tail her.

Near the end the events turn very whimsical, and that's where everything kind of melts down. The fantasy elements are intriguing: a prophetic, special girl, who looks very predatory and yet fairylike in appearance.

A father who is overly protective and keeps her hidden in the woods. A pulse pounding soundtrack over all the action, and fantastical settings, including an abandoned park, serve to remind us of the underlying sentiments of the film.

Ronan is amazing as Hanna, giving very little exposition, and yet portraying a feral young girl trying to cope with the instability of her situation. Blanchett is creepy in her role, malevolent as a Disney villain, and yet enjoys a complexity that never gets explained.

Marissa Heller is the one part of the story that never gels. We're not sure if she cares for Hanna, or wants revenge, or even why she ultimately stalks her like prey. There's definitely a seedy element to her character that isn't covered by governmental status, and yet it ends with emotional dependence on the young girl.

The ending feels stale and useless compared to the rest of the film, and that's because we're unsure of who Heller ultimately is. This film uses its elements effectively, and has a certain style and tone, but it doesn't have a very useful or interesting plot.