“God she’s
beautiful. She’s got the prettiest eyes. She looks so sexy in that sweater. I
just want to be alone with her, and hold her, and kiss her and tell her how
much I love her, and take care of her. Stop it you idiot, she’s your wife’s
sister.” This is Elliot (Michael Caine),
Hannah (Mia Farrow)’s frustrated husband talking in his head about Lee (Barbara
Hershey), Hannah’s sister. Lee is living with an anti social, pessimistic and
very dark older poet who used to be her mentor (Max Von Sydow). Hannah also has
another sister: Holly (Dianne Wiest), who is trying to find a job and discover
herself. She has recently stopped taking cocaine. ] Classic Woody Allen credits of course, white
over black. [It is as usual, a Rollins
and Joffe production. The classic match, Mia and Woody, except in this movie
Mia is Woody’s’s ex-wife, the “Hannah” of the title. With great performances
from Dianne Wiest, and Barbara Hershey, as Mia’s sisters. Woody Allen had the
same people working with him for nearly 40 years, from “Take the Money and Run”(1969)
to “Manhattan Murder Mystery”(1993).
The movie starts bluntly,
we enter right in the middle of a family gathering, for Thanksgiving. During
the gathering we learn that Elliot is in love with Lee, and that Holly is
thinking of opening a catering business with her friend, April ( Carrie
Fisher). We also find out that Holly needs to borrow money from Hannah, which
she has already done quite a few times. We also learn that the sisters’ mother ,
Norma (Maureen O’Sullivan.) drinks and likes to impress men. The scene ends
with Elliot saying: “ We all had a terrific time.” Dianne Wiest is breezy, and she has this childish, giggly
nature, even though we realize later in the movie, she can be serious and
sentimental. On the other hand Barbara Hershey is matter of fact and direct
and would be bland if she were not magically alluring in her simplicity. Hannah
plays the oldest sister and she is more logical, understanding and mature.—maybe
too logical, understanding and mature, as we find out. She has a very sweet voice, a bit like Dianne
Wiest.
This movie is presented
from different characters’ views at different times. Woody Allen’s presence in
the movie seems, at the beginning, to be almost irrelevant. But towards the end
his character comes into focus and we realize how central he is to the plot. He
plays his classic role, a very neurotic hypochondriac. The funniest sequences are of Woody Allen getting medical
tests to see if he has a brain tumour. Woody is nervous, hilarious and of
course gives a great performance.
Dianne Wiest is
adorable, very soft, and a little weak, but she is extremely fierce when she
gets angry. One of my favorite scenes is when she and her friend, April get
taken around by an architect (Sam Waterston) they met at a party.; You get a
beautiful view of buildings in New York. Michael Caine as Elliot is so awkward but
romantic. He is an insecure intellectual.I love him. All these people have such
carousing emotions. They are all trying to find themselves and they are charming
and wistful romantics. We soon realize that Holly is nearly crazy with jealousy
for Hannah. She attacks her continuously when Hannah is calmly and gently
trying to help her.
This is a
beautiful story about couples, and the timeless and repetitive story of life,
loss and love. “The heart is a very, very resilient little muscle.” This one of my favorite lines from Woody Allen. There is very romantic music, ranging from
classics such as “Bewitched, Bothered, and bewildered” as sung by Lloyd Nolan,
and Maureen O’Sullivan to “I’m in Love Again” sung by Bobby Short. The music
and views of New York are what really add to the beauty of the film. This movie is really timeless and puts Manhattan
in great perspective.
A+
Lucy
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