REVIEW: Hanna

Though it's marketed as a thriller, a Bourne film with a teenage girl in the lead (which it certainly is), at center mass, Hanna is a film about identity.Hanna is young and knows as little about her own life as she knows of the outside world. Likewise, the viewer is given no information and is forced to jump in immediately. In short, prepare to run. Keep up.

Something that struck me early on in Hanna is how it was out of place and time. How often have we seen the spy movie cliche of text ticked across the screen giving us a location. Be it a snowy forest and ramshackle home or a desert devoid of any unique characteristics, we are in a setting, not a location. It is discombobulating.

She doesn't know where she is, much less who she is. Ultimately though, it fits Hanna's journey. She reminded me of Leeloo in Fifth Element repeating multpass, not sure of the meaning, but knowing its significance. For example, when Hanna first comes in contact with peers all she can contribute is parroting "essential" phrases learned by rote. "My name is Hanna. I live at _____________. I go to school ___________. My best friends' names are ________." It's an awkwardness that stands in for the weirdness of teenage life that Hanna was not awarded.

As Hanna catches glimpses of a typical teenage life, complete with a, let's say uncomfortable, first kiss, her desire to find out who she is grows. This question, "who," is crucial to this story. To Joe Wright's credit, he answers with minimal information; the exposition is so subtle, expressed by the slightest expression or choice of one word over the other. All is takes is one word to send Hanna on this journey even. "Abnormal." Hanna dwells so much in the mystery that everything is a potential clue or certain value. (It's hard to discuss any character without spoilers, so I've added one much further down. Don't worry, it won't sneak up on you.)

Joe Wright is in top form. Atonement is known, at the very least, for one amazing one-take tracking shot. I feel he's outdone himself here. Nearly five minutes long. At first languid and then brutal, the camera unflinching as you see and feel every punch. Even outside of this one scene, this is one slick, polished film.  I'm sure the comparison has been made with Run Lola Run or La Femme Nikita, but unlike those films, Hanna does not get bogged down in style-as-substance.

Elevating it beyond shaky-cam style and into a character based thriller is the relationship between Hanna and a British family of four on vacation. As she joins them on their trip through Morocco (yes, we find out where we are for at least part of the movie) the full-extent of how disconnected she is and oddly sheltered she was comes incredsingly clear. Saoirse Ronan's captures this perfectly, showing Hanna as nothing more than a naive young girl ... who will girl you with ease. (Seriously, this girl's talent is off the charts). Hanna soon realizes this normal life, even the mere idea of family, cannot work for her.

Ultimately, it is an action film with an penchant for existentialism that at one moment feels like Melville's Le Samourai only to switch gears on you become a full-speed run-and-brawl spy film complete with a pumping soundtrack. I can't quite pinpoint it, but Hanna is unique and if you check the box office, often you'll find that quality lacking.

Few quick hits:

-There is an odd, albeit rare, quirkiness at play here. Specifically I'm speaking of the German assassins: two skinheads and one eurotrash sadist. Simply put, they are caricatures. In a film such as this you would think they would be distracting but for whatever reason they are not. It's a peculiar and dark sense of humor here and I appreciated it. Again, one more element that separated it from other action-thrillers.

-I am loving this trend of electronic musicians crafting film cores. Come to think of it, I've bought more soundtracks (as in the scores, not the "inspired by" albums) in the past few years than I ever have. Typically I have no interest in them, but Trent Reznor's Social Network and Johnny Greenwood's There Will Be Blood have become heavy rotation on my iPod. Even with the blockbuster Tron: Legacy, the best part was the Daft Punk score. So it should be no surprise that The Chemical Brothers music is a perfect fit here. They pick their spots and never overwhelm (unless needed). I saw the film 8 hours ago and as I write this I am listening to their soundtrack. So good.

-SPOILER!

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I talked above about the subtlety in character background development. Cate Blanchett's Marissa is out to hunt and kill Erik Heller and Hanna. I won't got all out and say why, but there is an overwhelming feeling of resentment coming from Marissa towards Hanna's mother and even Erik. She wants to kill this girl, but she wants to mother her as well. There are just a few small moments (honestly seconds), but out of that I get that Marissa, either because of her career choice of just cruel biology, is unable to have kids and it is killing her. So much from so little. Fucking brilliant.