Hanna

Hanna is Joe Wright's latest film, following his departure from period drama with The Soloist; sadly less than well-received. In the same vein as The Soloist however, Hanna is a fairytale about an outcast. This time it's a 16 year old girl, played by Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), who has been raised in a tiny cottage in dense Russian forest, by her father Erik (Eric Bana in scruffy beard and hair combo). Hanna is more than usually strong and fast for her age (spoilers as to why) and her father has cultivated this, training her into a stone-cold killer. We meet them as Hanna begins to tell Eril that she is 'ready'. Ready for what, we wonder. As Hanna emerges from the forest she, and the audience, slowly discover what she has been trained for and what her story is.

I'm a big fan of Joe Wright and was excited to see this film; he manages to do something different with each film he makes but they are all well-executed and creatively shot. Yes, I even liked The Soloist. And I liked Hanna too. Wright seems to have caught the fairy-tale zeitgeist but has done something different with it. Weaving fairytale elements into a modern thriller in a way that improves on both genres and doesn't feel forced. So we have the innocent heroine raised in ignorance of her 'noble birth', we have her stolid protector (Erik), a wicked witch (Cate Blanchett as evil Marissa Wiegler) and a big bad wolf (Tom Hollander being delightfully sinister as Isaacs). There is also another element here, which allows us to see the softer side of Hanna; a coming of age story whereby she comes across a hippyish English family travelling across Morocco. Hanna joins them and we see her eyes being opened by their ultra-modern teenage daughter, who is all US-sitcom-speak, makeup, and feverish excitement about the spanish boys they come across. Hanna learns from Sophie how to be a teenage girl, but thankfully this doesn't soften her up too much; when one of the striplings goes in for a kiss he gets firmly 'neutralised' thanks to Hanna's automatic defensive instincts.

Being a fan of fairytales I'm enjoying the current glut of films inspired by the old stories, but I think Hanna stands head and shoulders above the likes of Beastly and Red Riding Hood. Much as I like those films they are simply retellings. Here Wright has created the fabric of a completely new story, with many very modern elements, and then embroidered it with threads of traditional fairy-tales, which makes this film more exciting and innovative. Really there is something for everyone in this film: fast-paced action, a tender 'coming of age' sequence, some interesting sci-fi hints, and juicy characters played by respected actors. See it. See it now.