Review of Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) by Brett C — 22 Jun 2014

Review In A Nutshell:

Hannah and Her Sisters is the story, despite its name, of multiple characters roughly around their late 30s to early 40s and the problems they face during this time of their lives.

The film's premise is definitely more mature as compared to the other Allen films I have seen, tackling issues like affairs, lost relationships, life, death, religion, and careers. I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed this film, given the atypical style he uses for his characters and stories. I was able to latch onto something early on this film, telling me that life doesn't get easier once you are older, as one will still find struggles with problems, even the silly ones, that cannot be avoided as that is the concept of life, to live through its ups and downs, and the more one is willing to accept that, the happier they would become. This is not to say that all aspects of the film's plot are highly interesting, but most are. The ones I particularly enjoyed were the issues being driven by a male perspective, maybe because I could easier relate or maybe Allen just had a better knack in writing for it than for the female characters. The best of the bunch was definitely Mickey's story about life, death and love. His search for life's important questions was both profound and hilarious. Just watching the sequence regarding his one date with a certain sister, made me laugh so hard throughout that I may have missed a couple of spoken dialogue during the scene. I also thought positively of both Lee and Elliot's story, showing us that adults who have "settled" could also be confused at times and feel directionless in life, at times reverting back to certain feelings and actions that are found in the youth side of the spectrum of life. I found it difficult to find pleasure in watching and following Hannah's story as I personally felt it lacked any drama for me to invest in. I think her story would benefit more to the much more mature viewers as it would be easier for them to feel a sense of empathy for the character.

The film's cinematography, I personally felt was serviceable but nothing that would make one take notice or give true praise to. It did at times provide wonderful movement of the camera during particular indoor scenes, providing a dynamic and interesting style that prevents simple scenes with focus on dialogue feel bland or dull. Would the film benefit if Gordon Willis was handling the photography? Perhaps, and his presence would have probably given the film much more texture; but overall Carlo di Palma didn't completely disappoint with his work here.

The film doesn't use an original score like Manhattan; instead it uses tracks from multiple artists. Some of the tracks have this Jazz/Big Band sound to them which is now a cliché when supporting a story of upper middle class individuals set in New York, but during its time it worked effectively and gives a film that "Woody Allen" brand.

The amount of actors that I know in this is a quite extensive. The main cast includes Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey, Michael Caine, Dianne Wiest, Max von Sydow, Woody Allen, Maureen O' Sullivan, & Lloyd Nolan. They all delivered a great performance, particularly Allen who was now able to balance out his quirky attributes that is normally found in his character. The film also features cameos or small parts from actors like John Turturro, Carrie Fisher, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Julie Kavner, Sam Waterston, Daniel Stern, Joanna Gleason, and Richard Jenkins.

Hannah and Her Sisters is a strong entry for Allen, with its wonderful cast and strong story elements; it's definitely something I would like to come back to in the future.