Refreshingly and somewhat misleadingly, Focus Features decided to release this film at the very start of the Summer Blockbuster Season. I had settled myself into the notion that the next few months would find me becoming ever more disillusioned with the studio system and grow more and more tired of CG effects. Which is fine by me; you have to take the bad with the good as they say. The last thing I was expecting was a film like this. For all of the things I had resigned myself to that I would not see on screens for the next three to four months, I found suddenly alive on screen in front of me. This was the breath of fresh air I didn't know I needed and far and away, the most original film I have seen this year so far. That it also packs in great action, stunning performances and great directing only proves that when a film like this comes along, it must be savoured. I knew the plot of "Hanna" and knew that director Joe Wright was stepping out of his comfort zone of period melodramas, along with it's very interesting cast. Somewhat unfairly though, I did not really register the film on my radar. This is such a shame, as it is a fantastic and ready made cult classic, just waiting to take on extra resonance in the coming years. This is a film that will get better the more it is watched I imagine. For all the things that the film had going against it, so too does it's titular hero. Hanna was the underdog everybody underestimated.
Events kick off in the wilderness of Finland. We are introduced to our heroine and her father Eric (Eric Bana) as she is rigorously trained as a killing machine. Completely shut off from the world, Hanna is someone who knows so much and so little all at once. Everything about the world she knows has only been experienced or read in a book. And yet, this is one who knows how to hit a small animal from miles away with a handgun and can speak over a dozen languages. As Hanna suddenly finds herself out in the world, chased by Cate Blanchetts wonderfully evil and corrupt CIA agent Marissa Wiegler, she must learn to adapt to her new surroundings. Along the way she meets a travelling and liberal British family who take her in. For as much as Hanna knows how to take care of herself, she cannot look after herself. It is in these scenes that the film truly reveals itself. Beginning as a cold and very odd Jason Bourne meets Fairytale of sorts, the film soon softens as our understanding of Hanna, and her to the world grows. Wright makes this progression wonderfully; the many varied locations throughout the film could serve as an insight into what our heroine is feeling at that moment. As Hanna's personality thaws, so too does her background; moving from the wastes of Finland to the warm and crowded streets of Morocco and so forth. Throughout, Wright manages to mix subtle and sometimes humorous character detail with fantastic action. The film features two of the most heart stopping action scenes to be beaten this year; in one Hanna must elude those on her trail at a ship container factory and in another, Eric Bana faces off with agents in a stunning six minute tracking shot. As our lead the sixteen year old Ronan does an incredible job. With her snow white locks, pale face and piercing blue eyes, she is a ready made icon. She handles Hanna's uncertainty and growing interest in the real world excellently while still believably beating the crap out of anyone who gets in her way. Bana provides steely reserve and strength and Blanchett is the 'boo-hiss' evil queen, of the fairytale. However, most impressive of all is Tom Hollander as the camp, yet psychopathic Isaacs whom Wiegler hires to go after Hanna. With his two skin head neo nazi subordinates, dressed in tight 70's tennis shorts and peroxide blonde hair, he somehow manages to cut a very imposing figure.
Wright films all the action in a very European manner; this is not some glossy American action free for all extravaganza as it might have been. Events and pacing are measured accordingly to what the story needs. Some might bemoan the slow mid section, but it is here where the film truly worked its wonders for me and brings to mind just what a good job Wright et al did. The film might sound preposterous, but after a few moments alone with Hanna in the wilderness you will know that Wright has a vision for the film and that shines through in every scene. What caught me off guard was that I was not expecting a film to carry any trademark personality or grit, nothing to get my teeth into. Wright takes full advantage of the films idiosyncrasies and turns out something that is part "Run Lola Run", last years "The American" (with a genuine plot it is only fair to point out) and the previously mentioned Bourne films mixed with Hans Christian Andersons best tales. What the interesting thing is, is that it is fruitless to compare the film to many others as it is the rarest of rare: a truly original Summer action film. The action crackles, the music (by The Chemical Brothers no less) pulsates and the bravado of original vision is on full display as Joe Wright officially steps up to the plate, as one of the most interesting directors working today.
Verdict: 8/10
At times both odd and enthralling, director Wright turns in his most accomplished film so far, and the most unconventional action genre mash up you may see all year.
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