Goldfoot
12-06-2011, 02:23 AM
Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj6zCJyTq2I)
I was interested in this one since I saw the trailer, which was some time before it was released. I didn't get to see it in a theater, but I caught it when it came to DVD and it blew me away. Instantly rose to my favorite of the year, though I suspect it will be bumped down on the 21st. Everything about this movie was great, even the story, albeit nothing really original. The camera work, cinematography, transition from setting to setting, Saoirse's performance, and the music are all superb. I had temporarily forgotten that The Chemical Brothers made the score, but was quickly reminded of that fact when watching it. I would never have guessed that this is the same director as Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, and The Soloist. I think I'm going to watch this one again this week.
Edit:
After watching this again, I decided to write a proper review and wow, this film. The beginning of this film contains a decent amount of time explaining the current state of events in the world that was created for the film. Not only is the scenery amazing, but the sound design and acting are phenomenal. It follows a girl being trained in the frozen Scandinavian forest, not only for survival from the “elements,” but from other humans as well. Yes, her father is training her, a young girl, to be a spy capable of surviving an encounter with any existing spy. I try to avoid spoilers in these, but the plot isn’t the important part here; it’s the execution of the plot that helps make this something to be seen. Soon in you learn that Marissa is looking for Hanna and once a beacon is activated, the race is on. When the team arrives to capture Hanna, things start to get really interesting, backed by an already perfect score thanks to the folks behind The Chemical Brothers (even though it is pretty minimal up until this point).
And Saoirse, shit. It is simply wonderful to watch her do what she does in this. I’m not trying to downplay Eric “I Swam Across A Fucking Sea“ Bana’s role in the film, as he did a great job also. It’s just that watching Saoirse as Hanna is literally a privilege, and one that is very hard to come by, at least when it comes to young actresses. Sure there’s the example of Haylee Steinfeld in True Grit, but before that who is there? Saoirse’s simultaneous disconnect, wonderment, and dismay when encountering every new part of the world is a thing of beauty. Though she was taught by her father that she must adapt to survive, actually following through on that edict is something that one cannot be fully prepared for. While I don’t put much stock into nominations for awards (even the Oscars, which I was insanely proud for Reznor and Ross to have won), and while I’m sure I hope Rooney wins Leading Actress (I realize I haven’t seen the movie, but, yes, I have that much faith in Fincher), I do hope that she at least gets a nomination to acknowledge what an amazing job she did in this role.
Everything Hanna knows about the world was taught to her from a book (or series of). There are so many things she hasn’t experienced, and when she does she doesn’t know how to react to them. At this point, she is trying to reunite with her father, so she has no parental guidance when it comes to dealing with all this new input. She learns about technology, civilization, music, friendship, and sexuality. All of these things are new to her, and while she tried to adapt, she doesn’t conduct herself in the way most humans would, given the situations that she finds herself in. Her discovery of the world feels completely genuine and make one absolutely curious about how it feels to experience, not only something new, but everything new. She has to learn that her actions have consequences on those around her, and that she has feelings that are affected by the knowledge of what these consequences could mean. There’s nothing particularly new about this sort of storytelling, but Saoirse pulls it off in an amazing manner.
Now I shall go back to the super-spy Eric “I Trained My 16 Year Old Daughter How To Kill Everyone” Bana. After having a pretty significant screen-absence, we are treated to a delightfully long take (over three minutes) that really shows off the ability of everyone involved in the scene. Really. It starts with Eric meandering off a bus, through a train station, traversing underground to a subway, and ending with a very well choreographed fight sequence. Not only does this speak volumes for all the actors involved and how they stayed on their mark in terms of timing, but the camera even does at least one full rotation around the men fighting in the subway, and not one dolly track is visible.
It was leading up to the fight sequence that the music started to step it up in the film. Being an existing fan of The Chemical Brothers, I was delighted that they did the score to this film. After watching it and hearing how it fit, I could not be more pleased. While the score wasn’t as prominent in the first half, I understand the reasoning behind it. As we approach the final act of the film, the mood becomes tenser and it makes sense to start hearing more of the score. Music is a good way to accent the tension involved in a story like this, and though the pace of this film is pretty strong, everything is naturally going to come together in the third act.
In this one particular scene, the visuals alone create enough tension that you feel anxious to see what is about to happen. Even though the plot may be recycled from other stories, it’s still not obvious everything that is going to happen. The movie has been brutal enough that you are unsure of the fate of the family that has befriended Hanna. As they drive on and Hanna notices that they are being followed, a sense of “oh shit” comes about you. This is only accentuated by the music, and even when it mostly disappears it manages to create more tension. As the viewer waits to see what is going to happen, while the score only teases about what’s to come. This is where the scene erupts into the song called Container Park, which is aptly named because that is the current location of the action. Not only is it incredible that the music is structured for the scene, rather than typical musical conventions, but one of the men chasing Hanna is actually whistling what has become the theme of the film.
Though it is easy to become completely entranced by Saoirse’s performance, I should acknowledge Cate Blanchett’s role as Marissa. While she is pegged as the bad guy (and that is for you to decide upon watching), she plays her role very well. She has just the right amount of self righteousness and disregard for those who she deems to be in her way. Whether this is morally a good or bad thing is not what is at stake here, what is clear is that Cate knows what she is doing and there is no doubt about the intentions of her character. Whether it’s interrogating a young boy or watching Hanna tear apart operative after operative, Ms. Blanchett nails the secondary role that she plays in this tale. If you are familiar with her name, you know she can easily carry a large production, but I have to believe she saw the potential in this project and jumped at the opportunity to be a part of it. And after seeing it twice, there is no way I can say this was, in any way, a mistake.
Now I feel like it is time for me to address the directing itself, as well as cinematography and writing. First of all, Wright does a great job of capturing many different types of scenes with style and grace. The cinematography is fantastic, spanning from snow covered forests to vast, spanning deserts. Shit, there is even the subtle inclusion of something (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdeburg_Water_Bridge) I’d never seen before, without dwelling on it too long on it as to say, “Hey, check out this bad ass location we decided to shoot at.” And then as a combination of direction and writing, the film ends with an exactly parallel scene to the way it starts.
I was interested in this one since I saw the trailer, which was some time before it was released. I didn't get to see it in a theater, but I caught it when it came to DVD and it blew me away. Instantly rose to my favorite of the year, though I suspect it will be bumped down on the 21st. Everything about this movie was great, even the story, albeit nothing really original. The camera work, cinematography, transition from setting to setting, Saoirse's performance, and the music are all superb. I had temporarily forgotten that The Chemical Brothers made the score, but was quickly reminded of that fact when watching it. I would never have guessed that this is the same director as Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, and The Soloist. I think I'm going to watch this one again this week.
Edit:
After watching this again, I decided to write a proper review and wow, this film. The beginning of this film contains a decent amount of time explaining the current state of events in the world that was created for the film. Not only is the scenery amazing, but the sound design and acting are phenomenal. It follows a girl being trained in the frozen Scandinavian forest, not only for survival from the “elements,” but from other humans as well. Yes, her father is training her, a young girl, to be a spy capable of surviving an encounter with any existing spy. I try to avoid spoilers in these, but the plot isn’t the important part here; it’s the execution of the plot that helps make this something to be seen. Soon in you learn that Marissa is looking for Hanna and once a beacon is activated, the race is on. When the team arrives to capture Hanna, things start to get really interesting, backed by an already perfect score thanks to the folks behind The Chemical Brothers (even though it is pretty minimal up until this point).
And Saoirse, shit. It is simply wonderful to watch her do what she does in this. I’m not trying to downplay Eric “I Swam Across A Fucking Sea“ Bana’s role in the film, as he did a great job also. It’s just that watching Saoirse as Hanna is literally a privilege, and one that is very hard to come by, at least when it comes to young actresses. Sure there’s the example of Haylee Steinfeld in True Grit, but before that who is there? Saoirse’s simultaneous disconnect, wonderment, and dismay when encountering every new part of the world is a thing of beauty. Though she was taught by her father that she must adapt to survive, actually following through on that edict is something that one cannot be fully prepared for. While I don’t put much stock into nominations for awards (even the Oscars, which I was insanely proud for Reznor and Ross to have won), and while I’m sure I hope Rooney wins Leading Actress (I realize I haven’t seen the movie, but, yes, I have that much faith in Fincher), I do hope that she at least gets a nomination to acknowledge what an amazing job she did in this role.
Everything Hanna knows about the world was taught to her from a book (or series of). There are so many things she hasn’t experienced, and when she does she doesn’t know how to react to them. At this point, she is trying to reunite with her father, so she has no parental guidance when it comes to dealing with all this new input. She learns about technology, civilization, music, friendship, and sexuality. All of these things are new to her, and while she tried to adapt, she doesn’t conduct herself in the way most humans would, given the situations that she finds herself in. Her discovery of the world feels completely genuine and make one absolutely curious about how it feels to experience, not only something new, but everything new. She has to learn that her actions have consequences on those around her, and that she has feelings that are affected by the knowledge of what these consequences could mean. There’s nothing particularly new about this sort of storytelling, but Saoirse pulls it off in an amazing manner.
Now I shall go back to the super-spy Eric “I Trained My 16 Year Old Daughter How To Kill Everyone” Bana. After having a pretty significant screen-absence, we are treated to a delightfully long take (over three minutes) that really shows off the ability of everyone involved in the scene. Really. It starts with Eric meandering off a bus, through a train station, traversing underground to a subway, and ending with a very well choreographed fight sequence. Not only does this speak volumes for all the actors involved and how they stayed on their mark in terms of timing, but the camera even does at least one full rotation around the men fighting in the subway, and not one dolly track is visible.
It was leading up to the fight sequence that the music started to step it up in the film. Being an existing fan of The Chemical Brothers, I was delighted that they did the score to this film. After watching it and hearing how it fit, I could not be more pleased. While the score wasn’t as prominent in the first half, I understand the reasoning behind it. As we approach the final act of the film, the mood becomes tenser and it makes sense to start hearing more of the score. Music is a good way to accent the tension involved in a story like this, and though the pace of this film is pretty strong, everything is naturally going to come together in the third act.
In this one particular scene, the visuals alone create enough tension that you feel anxious to see what is about to happen. Even though the plot may be recycled from other stories, it’s still not obvious everything that is going to happen. The movie has been brutal enough that you are unsure of the fate of the family that has befriended Hanna. As they drive on and Hanna notices that they are being followed, a sense of “oh shit” comes about you. This is only accentuated by the music, and even when it mostly disappears it manages to create more tension. As the viewer waits to see what is going to happen, while the score only teases about what’s to come. This is where the scene erupts into the song called Container Park, which is aptly named because that is the current location of the action. Not only is it incredible that the music is structured for the scene, rather than typical musical conventions, but one of the men chasing Hanna is actually whistling what has become the theme of the film.
Though it is easy to become completely entranced by Saoirse’s performance, I should acknowledge Cate Blanchett’s role as Marissa. While she is pegged as the bad guy (and that is for you to decide upon watching), she plays her role very well. She has just the right amount of self righteousness and disregard for those who she deems to be in her way. Whether this is morally a good or bad thing is not what is at stake here, what is clear is that Cate knows what she is doing and there is no doubt about the intentions of her character. Whether it’s interrogating a young boy or watching Hanna tear apart operative after operative, Ms. Blanchett nails the secondary role that she plays in this tale. If you are familiar with her name, you know she can easily carry a large production, but I have to believe she saw the potential in this project and jumped at the opportunity to be a part of it. And after seeing it twice, there is no way I can say this was, in any way, a mistake.
Now I feel like it is time for me to address the directing itself, as well as cinematography and writing. First of all, Wright does a great job of capturing many different types of scenes with style and grace. The cinematography is fantastic, spanning from snow covered forests to vast, spanning deserts. Shit, there is even the subtle inclusion of something (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdeburg_Water_Bridge) I’d never seen before, without dwelling on it too long on it as to say, “Hey, check out this bad ass location we decided to shoot at.” And then as a combination of direction and writing, the film ends with an exactly parallel scene to the way it starts.