Positive Movie Review of Hannah and Her Sister's

Hannah and Her Sister’s Movie Review
Another Woody Allen film with the same style of showing off his own interests within a film. Allen’s 1986 film, “Hannah and Her Sisters” was a film filled with episodic suspense ending with all smiles. Confusion in a film loses an audience while suspense maintains one. With more twists and turns than the beltway, Allen turns confusion into suspense by telling a different part of the story after every blank screen.
With a black screen and white words to describe the next episode of the movie, it helps to show steady progression throughout the characters lives. Other than the pure genius of the screen writers, the characters make the movie. A television executive who fears his own death, a supposedly strong artist who depends too much on his girlfriend, a woman who’s cocaine addiction brings fear to everything around her, and an accountant who is in love with his wife’s sister makes for an amazing film.
On top of directing this major motion picture, Woody Allen plays a hypochondriac who questions everything about his life. Even after being told he doesn’t have a tumor, Mickey is happy for 15 minutes tops before questioning living life in general. With this type of character, one wouldn’t expect any room for sarcastic remarks or humor. Mickey talked under his breath and joked about every subject matter known to man.
To contradict a free-living character such as Mickey, Michael Caine and Max von Sydow play characters of heightened language and maturity. With their use of advanced words and knowledge, Caine and Sydow bring balance to the male characters in the film by opposing Allen’s. Just when you think these two men are the best kind of men, Caine’s character, Elliot, has an affair with his wife’s sister. On top of that, Sydow’s character, Frederick, is the victim of this affair because Elliot’s partner in crime is Frederick’s other half.
Starting the movie off at Thanksgiving dinner, Allen uses his own effect of irony ending the film on the same holiday. From episode to episode, suspense was created thinking everyone was going to end up hating one another. From Elliot and Lee’s affair with one another to Mickey contemplating the meaning of life, one wouldn’t have expected for Allen to end the film on a happy note.
The ex cocaine-using sister ends up with the ex-husband of Hannah. The cheating husband ends up staying with his wife due to her sister finding another lover instead of continuing the affair with him. The passionate artist who seems to have all the intelligence in the world couldn’t hold his relationship together, and ends up alone. With all the turns within the same household, it makes the family closer than ever.
Woody Allen playing a hypochondriac is like having Shaquille O’Neal play a basketball player; it just fits. Having Michael Caine play an intelligent man with an accent is like having David Beckham play a soccer player; it just works. Having Mia Farrow play a calm, cool and collective wife is like having the Williams sisters play tennis players, it goes well together.
With these actors fitting their role perfectly, and the writers giving them room for improvisation, the characters made this film legendary. The selection of episodes, and the order they are given capture all different types of audiences. With the flips, turns, and twists, these audiences stay focused on every aspect of the film until the ending credits. Allen is a well-respected director, but with the production of “Hannah and Her Sisters”, he became a genius.

Hannah and Her Sister's Movie Review

Another Woody Allen film filled with sarcastic remarks and prejudice views on the setting. Taking place in New York, Allen expresses his love for the Big Apple through unnecessary scenes in the picture. A single man taking two women on a tour throughout a city that they are already reside in is obviously an excuse for Allen to show off his love for buildings in his favorite city.
Expressing problems that happen to everyday families is one thing, but stretching it out is inhumane. For sisters to get around the same crowd that much, it makes a movie that is supposed to be realistic, unrealistic. Having one sister do cocaine while the other one not being able to have kids is one thing. But on top of that, the middle sister has an affair with the husband of the oldest sister. To finish things off, the cocaine using sister ends up with the ex-husband of Hannah, and ends up becoming pregnant from him.
Suspense keeps an audience, but confusion loses all of us. If it wasn’t for Woody Allen’s original type of humor, individuals wouldn’t have paid this movie any attention. Woody Allen playing a hypochondriac was like having Shaquille O’neal play a basketball player; it just fits. His overall persona of making small talk under his breath kept a smile on my face throughout the film. Michael Caine’s accent and overall smoothness was entertaining in itself. If it wasn’t for the confusing plots, this movie would have been a four star instead of three star in my eyes.
The writers for this movie are what I like to call “Superwriters.” In easier sense, they were over achievers. Like stated earlier, suspense is one thing to try to conquer, but with all the arcs this movie has , it creates more confusion than anything. Trying to have a realistic type of movie, one shouldn’t create that much drama within one family between sisters and their lovers.
Overall, this is a movie that could have been great, but ended up just average due to trying to do too much in one film.