There’s a textural quality to Hanna that stands out as its most prominent feature. Hanna is a film that was made to explore an idea, and that idea is a (barely) scifi, spy drama filmed as a fairy tale. It’s both grittier and more grounded than “Pan’s Labyrinth” but considerably more fantastical than the Bourne Identity.
Hanna’s extent, though, begins and ends with that textural exploration. The film is an extremely pleasant and engaging experience that carries its aesthetic naturally and completely from beginning to end. But unlike fairy tales or other sorts of hero stories, Hanna is missing a moral, message, or psychological treatment of Hanna’s (the character) development. In short, Hanna (both the film and the character) lacks closure.
Irrespective of Hanna’s narrative progression, Saoirse Ronan (as Hanna) does a great job of playing a teenage assassin exploring her world for the first time – in a neutral, german-tinged accent, no less. Cate Blanchett is a fantastic villain and southern belle, with all of the demur faux-kindness you could possibly want out of a heartless control-freak with a drawl.
The soundtrack also bears mentioning, having been scored by the Chemical Brothers. Interviews about the film have noted how well integrated the tracks are with the sound design for the film, and that’s certainly true, weaving the Chemical Brothers’ distinctive sound in and out of scenes quite seamlessly. But more than that, i was pleased with the Chemical Brothers ability to do two distinct things. They produced tracks that are enjoyable both as a film score and as an album, but they did the film score justice in building tracks that smoothly connect both the fantastical fairytale aesthetic of the film, and the upbeat electronic pacing you’d expect out of a spy caper.
All in all, it was definitely an enjoyable experience. I’d be interested in seeing it again and probably getting the dvd.
