Review of Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) by Kenneth L — 22 Jul 2010

Another extremely good Woody Allen movie. This one doesn't have a central high concept the way The Purple Rose of Cairo or Radio Days do; it's just the story of three sisters and their significant others, and the entanglements they get into.

(Of course the dialogue is great, and won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar.)The title would seem to suggest that Hannah, played by Mia Farrow, would be the main character, but I think she actually gets less screen time and less to do than either of the other two sisters, played by Barbara Hershey and Dianne Wiest in an Oscar-winning role as a nervous coke addict trying to live a normal life.

Michael Caine also won his first Oscar here, playing Hannah's husband who suddenly falls in love with one of the sisters but is torn up by guilt. And of course, there's a decent-sized part for Woody Allen himself as Hannah's ex-husband.

I think there's just something intrinsically funny about Woody Allen. He can just appear and make people laugh; he can talk and make them laugh some more. It almost doesn't even matter what he's talking about; as long as he's talking, he's funny.

A scene near the end, when the Allen character considers suicide but changes his mind after wandering into a Marx brothers movie, is one of the best scenes of any Allen movie. I found The Purple Rose of Cairo and Radio Days more purely enjoyable, but this one is more mature and serious, while still being warm and friendly and ultimately comforting.