Saoirse Ronan is a young actress set for huge things. Her performance in Atonement outshone Keira Knightly and a compelling turn in the magnificent The Lovely Bones have already helped her stamp her mark as one of the most promising acts out there at the moment. Next up, recently released Hanna, a step into slightly different territory for Ronan.
Hanna follows a young girl (Ronan) living with her father (Eric Bana) in the woods in Finland, away from civilisation, being trained up to be vigilant and effective as an assassin, following in her father’s footsteps. Training her vigorously each day, her father, Erik, keeps her away from any form of technology and purposely keeps her focused on the means it takes to survive. Eventually, though, Hanna comes to the point in which she feels she is ready and at the flick of a switch a homing beacon is turned on revealing their position.
With this, crooked CIA agent Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett) springs into action to track down both Hanna and Erik. She has a past with the former and is determined to silence him for good. Sending a tactical team to capture him, they soon find Hanna in Finland and take her prisoner instead. During the interrogation procedure though, Hanna, using all the skills she has learnt from her father, escapes the government facility she is being held in and soon embarks on meeting up with her father in Germany.
This clearly will not be an easy task and Hanna soon finds not only Wiegler on her trail but also a professional hitman and his two companions after her life too. Realising she must find transportation, Hanna soon finds a family on holiday with whom she befriends and she begins to find out what life in the ‘real world’ is like. Experiencing friendship, love and betrayal, Hanna is fascinated as to how different her world is to that in which other people live in, this portrayed perfectly by a stellar turn from young Ronan.
The final third of the film speeds up at a break-neck speed as we further unfold the mystery of Hanna and Erik’s lives and their involvement with Wiegler and the end product does not disappoint. Director Joe Wright (Atonement) has created a gem in terms of filmmaking and Ronan is perfect pick for the lead character. Backed up superbly by the ever-reliable Eric Bana, Ronan carries the film on her shoulders with such ease, as if she has the lead in films for years, it is just a shame to say that such a fine actress as Cate Blanchett lets the team down. Despite being a powerful actress in many a successful film, Blanchett does not fit the mould for an evil villain in a film such as this and is rather disappointing in her execution of portraying a villainous CIA agent.
Nevertheless this does not take away the fact that Hanna is an ultimately entertaining and gripping thriller with a good story and a shining lead star. Also a pumping soundtrack from The Chemical Brothers lends a helping hand in ensuring each action scene is of the highest calibre and truly adrenaline-heavy.
Film rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The lowdown: Hanna continues Saoirse Ronan’s rise to become one of Hollywood’s leading rising talents and it will be interesting to see where the young Irish woman ends up next. Pulsating soundtrack and rip roaring thrills make Hanna a sure fire hit.
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