Review of Hanna (2011) by Ben S — 10 Dec 2012

High concept action thriller centred around a 16-year-old girl trained as a merciless killer. Hanna lives a sheltered life with her father Eric (Eric Bana) in the frozen forest of Finland, spending days honing her fighting skills, and dreaming of the wider world (âwhat does music feel like?â?)â¦.

until sheâ(TM)s ready to flip the switch that alerts relentless FBI agent Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett) to her and her fatherâ(TM)s whereabouts, setting in motion a chain of events that reveals their story.

Itâ(TM)s an unashamedly daft concept that will lose some viewers from the outset and requires a few leaps of faith to get on-board with; but it has so much going for it that these misgivings are soon forgotten.

Hanna has a fantastic stylised look, almost reminiscent of a comic book at times. Rich primary colours play against grindhouse grit to give it an entirely individual look, featuring some dynamic cinematography that sets it apart from others in the genre.

Director Joe Wright (better known for his period dramas) handles the infrequent bone crunching action superbly, and does a fine job of making fight sequences between a teenage girl and 15 stone soldiers seem both plausible and genuinely physical.

Throughout the race for survival there is a subtext about Hanna trying to understand who she is and make sense of the modern world sheâ(TM)s been sheltered from. This is never fully explored and it occasionally slows the pace too much, but it does help make the assassin a more rounded character and give more weight to her actions.

All of this is underpinned by a fantastic central performance by Saoirse Ronan, manifesting both the lethal killer and the little girl lost. She has a striking appearance with ice blue eyes and waves of messy blond hair â" a breath of fresh air in action movies (weâ(TM)ve all seen enough ex-marine â~everymenâ(TM) in jeans and t-shirts) â" not to mention her magnetic screen presence.

Support from Cate Blanchett in a mid-western pantomime villain role, and Tom Hollander as a psychotic tracksuit-wearing German is admirable. Itâ(TM)s a curious film that jumps around in tone from one scene to the next and doesnâ(TM)t completely hold together, but itâ(TM)s rare to see an action movie in recent years attempt to do something different, and if youâ(TM)re willing to suspend your disbelief there is much to enjoy.