Review of Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007) by Seth R — 20 Apr 2010

Regarding Greta Gerwig, who writes, acts, and even plays trumpet in this film: No female actor has ever reminded me so much of Marlon Brando in her reliance on naturalism -- which is, as we know, the greatest artifice of all, and the most difficult to pull off.

I don't want to give anything away, but Gerwig even seemingly acknowledges her debt to Brando here, inventing a bit of business at one point in the film that comes right out of "The Godfather," when she playfully puts something in her mouth that could be Brando's cotton balls and/or the sliced orange peel in the garden death scene.

And the same can be said of the writing in this film -- it's almost 'non-writing' which, in order to pull off (as I think they do -- but that is the question that will obviously split viewers and critics), is as incredibly difficult to do successfully as the acting.

This is an incredibly modest film -- insular, with only a few roles, and less 'plot' rather than 'scenes' that do, in fact, reveal character and change over time. If it weren't for the compelling performances, the heartbreakingly realistic emotional struggles of the characters, and the wit and ingenuity of the dialogue and the setups, it wouldn't work. But it has them all, and mostly, it has Greta Gerwig, who has an uncanny sense of how the camera sees her, and seemingly totally un-self-consciously uses that to her -- and our -- advantage.