Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

Funny and heartwarming.

Hannah and Her Sisters is Woody Allen's third best film (Annie Hall and Manhattan are 1 and 2) I liked this film, it is quirky and touching. The best performance goes to Dianne Weist, she is such a natural, she's cute and refreshing in this film. Michael Caine is also good as well, I just wish Mia Farrow wasn't in this, she brings down the film with her sour facial expressions. Lovely romantic comedy for new and old fans of Allen's work. May 1, 2008

A film that has everything it needs; a complete package to put it bluntly...

I have not seen a lot of Woody Allen movies; he's one of those directors that I really need to research and dive into. I've seen `Match Point' and loved it, and I've see `The Sweet and Lowdown' and thought it was decent, but his classics like `Annie Hall' and `Hannah and her Sisters' had truly gone unseen by my eyes. Then last weekend I decided to look into some of Allen's films and I came across `Hannah and her Sisters'. Now, as a huge fan of Michael Caine, and knowing that he won the Oscar for his performance in this film, I quickly grabbed this DVD and brought it home. To my astonishment, `Hannah and her Sisters' is not just a good movie, it is a phenomenal movie.

Hannah is the most stable and successful of the three sisters focused on in this film. She is married, has a home, a career and children. Her sister Holly is struggling to become an actress and is often borrowing money from Hannah to support her `struggles'. Their youngest sister Lee is living with an ornery artist whom Lee wishes she could build the courage to leave. Holly resents Hannah for her success; resentment that is mostly misplaced and obviously stems from self-loathing. Hannah's husband Elliot has fallen in love with Lee and entertains the idea of an affair but lacks the courage to really do something about it. Hannah's ex-husband Mickey is a hypochondriac who fears he is dying and, in the process of trying to find himself, begins to rekindle a past romance with Holly.

As the lives of this close nit family interconnect and intertwine, `Hannah and her Sisters' becomes deeply rooted in the heart of the audience. This is the type of `dramedy' that works on so many levels. It has the right touch of humor (Woody Allen is hysterical) and it has the right amount of tension (Holly's life in particular is tense and at times uncomfortable), it has the right amount of drama (the whole `Elliot loves Lee, Lee loves Elliot, but what about Hannah' thing is drama with a capital D) but most importantly it has the perfect amount of warmth and tenderness to make for a complete package.

The acting is flawless across the board, but the Academy got it right by singling out Michael Caine and Dianne Wiest for Oscars. As Elliot and Holly respectively, Caine and Wiest bring so much humanity and raw emotion to this film. They are by far the most conflicted characters in the film and in the end they are the most memorable. Woody Allen though should not go by without mention. As Mickey he serves up most of the comedic relief in the film, cutting a lot of tension with his quick witted humor. He's so natural here, so enjoyable. Mia Farrow is soft and tender as Hannah, sympathetic and relatable, and Barbara Hershey is splendid as Lee, the center of Elliot's affections and the audience's attention whenever she's gracing the screen. Maureen O'Sullivan and Lloyd Nolan are flawless as the parents to these three girls, and they share some of the films funniest banter (O'Sullivan in particular is hilariously on-point). Even small supporting roles by the likes of Max von Sydow (flawless actor), Carrie Fisher and Sam Waterston are executed with delicate precision and dedication. Not a single performance feels out of place or forgettable. Each and every actor belongs in their role and commits one-hundred percent.

In the end `Hannah and her Sisters' is a stupendous film. In fact not only did I watch the film once more before it was due back to the video store, but upon returning it I made my way over to `Best Buy' and purchased the film for the DVD library. `Hannah and her Sisters' is a film I consider to be the complete package (I think I already said that once) and it is not a film that will quickly grow old or tiring. If you have yet to see this masterpiece then I urge you to bump this to the top of your `MUST SEE' list. After watching `Hannah and her Sisters' I am sure to put Woody Allen's filmography at the top of my `MUST SEE' list. May 1, 2008

ok

It is OK movie to watch, but it is not among the best from Woody Allen. January 24, 2008

"Great. That means I'll have to sit through the Ice Capades again."

It is impossible to truly describe the plot of this film because there are so many separate but interrelated stories going on at once. The primary story consists of sisters Leigh (Barbara Hershey) and Hannah (Mia Farrow) who share a common bond besides blood; Hannah's husband (Michael Cane) is in love with Leigh. It begins innocently enough with a casual flirtation over common interest and escalates into a full-on affair. There is chaos in the family too. Third sister Holly (Dianne Weist) is a recovering cocaine addict and struggling actress whose problems cause frequent rifts in the family. Finally, Hannah's ex-husband (Woody Allen) is a neurotic hypochondriac who believes he is dying of a brain tumor.

As this is my first exposure to Allen, I was surprised to find myself enjoying his character the most. The media paints a negative portrait of him because of his eccentricities, his praise from film buffs, and his marriage to his adopted daughter. However, this film proves that he is an astute film-maker, and an effective actor. His scene in the movie theater watching The Marx Brothers perform is the most memorable and heartwarming scene in the film.

There are other little surprises for film fans. Hannah and Her Sisters teams mother and daughter actresses Maureen O'Sullivan and Farrow together as mother and daughter. Their scenes are interesting, and O'Sullivan is highly entertaining along fellow classic film star Lloyd Nolan who plays her husband. December 13, 2007

Considered Woody Allen's best film.

Hannah and Her Sisters is considered by many critics (including Roger Ebert) to be Woody Allen's finest film. (My personal favorite is Manhattan, but Hannah is a close second.) It is a romantic comedy with dramatic undertones that tells the intertwined stories of Hannah (Mia Farrow ) and her two sisters (Barbara Hershey and Dianne Wiest). The film takes place over a one-year period beginning and ending with a Thanksgiving dinner party hosted by Hannah and her accountant husband Elliot (Michael Caine). Elliot, we discover, is having an affair with one of Hannah's sisters, Lee (Hershey). Hannah's ex-husband Mickey (Allen) brings comic relief to the film. He is a neurotic, hypochondriac, television executive in the midst of a full-blown existential crisis, obsessed with death and his unhappiness. Mickey is not much different than the characters Allen plays in Annie Hall and Manhattan. He is involved with Hannah's other sister, Holly (Wiest), who has a fondness for cocaine. Other actors appearing in the ensemble film include Carrie Fisher, Max von Sydow, Julie Kavner, Lewis Black, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, John Turturro, Tony Roberts, and Sam Waterston. Of all, Allen's character is the most interesting in my opinion.

G. Merritt October 31, 2007

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