'Hanna'

'Hanna' (PG-13) (3 stars)

Writers: Seth Lochhead and David Farr
Director: Joe Wright
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett, Jessica Barden, Tom Hollander,
Olivia Williams, Jason Flemyng

"Hanna" is not a conventional action movie and it seems like it is from another World but I liked it. This could be a cult film if it hadn't made so much money on it's opening weekend. This is not really an original concept concerning a female child killing adult bad guys. "Kick-Ass" came out last year and had a young female girl side kick slicing up bad guys. It is not original but as filmed by director Joe Wright it seems like it hasn't been done before. It is like a fever dream come to life and it has a hypnotic quality.

"Hanna" tells the story of a young teenage girl who is raised in the woods to defend herself by her father. She speaks several languages, knows martial arts and is very handy with a knife. The father turns out to be a rogue agent and he is tracked by CIA boss Marissa, delightfully played by the breathtaking Cate Blanchett. She is a very wicked Southern lady sort of like an evil Queen and Blanchett is wonderful here with her perfect and delightful Southern accent. I mentioned Marissa as an evil Queen and yes "Hanna" is like a fairy tale though a fairy tale about a teenage girl who kills.

The young and talented Saoirse Ronan plays Hanna and she is excellent. The director Joe Wright and Ronan worked together on "Atonement" which I hated. They do better work here and I like how Joe Wright tells this weird story. Saoirse Ronan was incredible in the flawed movie adaptation "The Lovely Bones" and here she gives her role more depth than it should have. The cinematography is grey and cold but I found it beautiful and hypnotic and the location work is cool. I also love the hard charging electronic rock score by The Chemical Brothers. The score is the best I have ever heard of it's kind and it beautifully fits the movie's drive. I actually wanted to download it on my Ipod right after.

I wasn't really enchanted by this movie but I love that it plays like a warped fairy tale and it does so subtly. The Marissa character is really an evil Queen out to destroy the young heroine. I also loved the middle section where Hanna hooks up with a family on vacation and becomes friends with another girl. This movie kicks the ass of a recent movie that tried to be a hip modern day fairy tale, "Red Riding Hood". I love the cinematography, the score and the crisp action scenes. I liked the performances and I could watch Cate Blanchett for days in anything. She is wickedly good here and doesn't go over the top. It could have been a disaster but Blanchett is a brilliant actress and she nails it. "Hanna" is like a cult movie that could have been made in the 70's when movies were not afraid to be dark and weird. Bravo!