Hanna
2011 · Directed by Joe Wright
Original language: English
- action
- thriller
- adventure
The story
Raised by her father, an ex-CIA agent, in the wilds of Finland, Hanna's upbringing has been geared to making her the perfect assassin. Sent into the world by her father on a mission, Hanna journeys across Europe, eluding agents dispatched after her by a ruthless intelligence operative. As she nears her ultimate target, Hanna faces startling revelations about her existence.
What it’s like
Hanna's look is driven by Joe Wright's restless camera and a hard, saturated palette: snow-white Finnish forests and bleak concrete bunkers give way to fluorescent corridors, sodium-lit Moroccan streets and the cold glass and grey steel of Berlin. The camera moves constantly, sweeping, spinning and tracking alongside its heroine, and the frequent handheld passages give fight scenes a jolting immediacy. Chemical Chemical Brothers-style electronic pulses and The Chemical Brothers' driving beats push the action forward, while quieter passages lean on sparse, eerie tones and the crunch of boots on ice. The vibe is taut and feverish, somewhere between cool stylised thriller and fairy-tale strangeness, with a dash of teen-novel wonder. It suits a late-night watch when you want momentum and a sense of being swept along. Pacing is brisk, the tone earnest and intense, and the central arc follows a sheltered young woman discovering the wider world and her own identity, her coming-of-age shaped by a bond with her father and the menace of those who hunt her. Violence is frequent and sharp: several fights and shootings, some bloody injuries, and a few deaths, delivered with stylised brutality rather than lingering gore. It is best for viewers who enjoy kinetic action with a strong female lead and a stylised, unsettling atmosphere, not for anyone seeking something gentle.
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