When I grow up I want to be Hanna.
I’m pretty certain every girl …. & boy watching this film thought this at some point of time.
I want to go on & on and rave about this film but that might be putting off so I’m going to take it slow.
The film opens quietly, establishes itself well & moves in beautiful, smooth lines when it comes to the story. That’s your one line dull review. Now on to the interesting part.
Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) is a 16 year old girl who has lived in a forest her entire life with her father (Eric Bana) who is a former CIA agent, who has taught her everything he knows, turning her into a rather young, lean, mean, killing machine. It doesn’t stop there. Hanna is fluent in several languages & I’m certain she knows most of the Encyclopaedia Brittanica by heart. But since she has lived in a forest her entire life, with absolutely no human contact except for her father, leaving her little cocoon would be rather dangerous, especially since she has an arch enemy in the shape of Marissa (Cate Blanchett) and that’s when the fun begins. Hanna has been told at the beginning of the film by her father that Marissa is the big bad wolf who will eat Hanna up if she doesn’t slay her.
And so begins Hanna’s journey into a world she has complete knowledge of but no experience in. You can see the beauty of her innocence in a few frames during the film, but for the most of it she remains stoic and composed. It’s almost like Jason Bourne got into a time machine, had a quick sex-change and then bleached his hair blonde.
Joe Wright has done a stellar job in giving this film the right amount of grit and edge. Cate Blanchett & her obsession for clean teeth make her a super villain. And I’ve been a Saoirse Ronan fan ever since I saw her in The Lovely Bones. Together, they prop the film in a manner that it can’t really fall.
I loved the fairy tale references in the film. The visual appeal in certain instances is very magical, albeit dark magical. Young Hanna is all alone in a world she doesn’t really belong in, fighting a dark force at every turn, with a witch at her heels. Throw in a run down, defunct, amusement park and you have yourself a cinematic treat.
If this isn’t reason enough for you to watch the film then I have two words for you – Chemical Brothers. The entire soundtrack of the film has been done by them and OH MY GOD! What a soundtrack it is. Each critical sequence is lifted up, spun around, brought crashing down and then made to soar again all thanks to some fantastic seamless music which takes from the film and builds into some serious aural pleasure.
Do yourself a favour, go watch the film.