Movie Review: Hanna (2011) directed by Joe Wright
Hanna (Saoirse Ronan)has been raised since infancy in an isolated cabin in the Finnish wilderness by her father Erik Heller (Eric Bana). He’s taught her survival, hunting and combat, a bunch of encyclopedia entries, and a cover story to give anyone who asks. Hanna’s grown into a strong girl who can take care of herself. Or at least, she’s pretty sure of that. Sure enough to press the button that her father has told her will summon the CIA. As it happens, the button does in fact alert the CIA to Erik’s location.
Erik’s long gone by the time they arrive, but the CIA is able to capture Hanna and take her to a secure location in Morocco. Hanna insists on talking to Erik’s old boss Marissa Wiegler. When the woman gets too close, Hanna kills her and escapes. What Hanna doesn’t know is that Marissa (Cate Blanchett) sent in a double, and is still alive.
Hanna is befriended by British tourist Sophie and her family, but is dogged by the now-rogue Marissa and her deadly underlings as she heads to Berlin for a reunion with her father. She has some questions that need answering!
As might be expected from a modern movie with the CIA in it, there’s a lot of “black and gray morality.” Hanna kills quite a few CIA operatives, some of whom were not actually trying to kill her at the time. Marissa and her crew, on the other hand, have no compunction about slaughtering innocent civilians just to shut their mouths. Erik’s not clean-handed either.
There are some trippy visuals and fairy tale motifs. The former is used best in a scene where Hanna suffers sensory overload as every electronic device in a motel room activates at once–one of the things Erik didn’t prepare her for is just how noisy civilization is! One other lesson he skipped was emotionally connecting to people; the seemingly air-headed Sophie helps a bit with that.
Marissa is an effective villain, part Big Bad Wolf and part Evil Stepmother. She’s clever, ruthless, but has her failings, such as liking impractical footwear. The accent chosen for the character sounds incredibly phony but this may be deliberate.
Content notice: child abuse.
Recommended for action movie fans.
