Review of Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) by Jmh — 06 May 2012

Woody Allen's magnificent Hannah and Her Sisters plays out like a novel on screen, parsed into chapters by white-on-black quotes, or snippets of dialog, that announce the beginning of each scene. The film's chapters tell intertwined stories of an extended family of Manhattanites, centered largely around Hannah (Mia Farrow), the oldest of three sisters, Hannah, Holly (Dianne Wiest), and Lee (Barbara Hershey).

The stories link at three family Thanksgivings at Hannah's apartment, shared with her husband Elliot (Michael Caine), at the beginning, middle, and end of the film. Each story is distinguished by its own soundtrack, and sometimes by its own pace, look, and/or location.

Hannah and Elliot have marriage troubles. Elliot's infatuated, and starts an affair, with Lee. Holly's aimless, trying and failing to find satisfaction, repeatedly, taking "solace" in a self-destructive drug habit.

Alongside this mix is Mickey (Allen), who's learned he may have a brain tumor and finds himself on a quest to make meaning of life in the face of death. Each story provides a window into the complex decisions adults make -- whether right or wrong -- when confronted with circumstances they hardly apprehend.

Allen treats right and wrong choices with the same degree of tolerance, and ultimately with a blind-but-necessary optimism -- a belief that, next time around, a person might just do better. The film's feats are numerous.

Effortless mixing of drama and comedy. Thematic and personal bonds uniting seemingly disparate characters and stories. Crafty direction that juggles the pieces but fits them together. This is perhaps Allen's most richly acted film; it's certainly one of his most richly written.

His assured storytelling and directing exhibit a marked maturation of his skills. Hannah and Her Sisters is a great, and now classic, film.