Films are sometimes described as “vehicles” for the big names that headline them. “Arthur,” the remake of the 1981 film that opened this weekend, was made simply to showcase the outsize personality of Russell Brand. It’s not often a film looks like a vehicle for a young, relatively new talent — let alone one with a name few Americans can even pronounce. But Saoirse Ronan isn’t the typical child star. She astonished with the maturity she brought to the central role of Briony in 2007’s “Atonement” — enough to garner an Oscar nomination — in which she was cast when she was just 12 years old. The American-born, Irish-raised actress can handle any accent, often more convincingly than the vets. She donned an American one for 2009’s “The Lovely Bones,” in which she played a murdered girl watching her family cope with the tragedy. Now 16, she’s proven she can carry a film on her own. “Hanna” wouldn’t have been convincing with any other star in the title role.
| On screen |
| ‘Hanna’ |
| 3 out of 5 stars |
| Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett |
| Director: Joe Wright |
| Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexual material and language |
| Running time: 105 minutes |
Hanna lives with her father (Eric Bana) in the Finnish tundra, her every waking moment dedicated to learning how to kill and keep from being killed — make that every moment, as she’s expected to deflect attacks even while asleep. She insists she’s ready for the assignment she was raised to perform. She flips a switch that will announce her location to the CIA, her father disappears, and Hanna sits alone in the cabin — as a predator lies in wait for its prey.
That prey is Marissa (Cate Blanchett), who appears to have more power than any CIA agent should have. Why Hanna is after her — and why her father became a rogue agent — are slowly revealed in between scenes of graphic violence and exhilarating chases that take place across Europe and North Africa.
“Hanna” is a stylish thriller, one that looks new simply because its star is a teenage girl. In its girl-with-a-mission plot and kinetic soundtrack, it’s more than a little reminiscent of the German thriller “Run Lola Run.” The soundtrack by the Chemical Brothers is outstanding. It makes the film look rather like a series of music videos, but so well shot and energetic, the viewer doesn’t really mind.
Director Joe Wright — who made “Atonement” — seems destined to make very good, but never very great, films. He’s always more concerned with style than substance. His trademark long tracking shots are used, even when they’re not necessary. He clearly spent lots of time composing the visuals of this exciting film — but little on the story that could have been a deep meditation on nature and nurture and what it means to be human.
