Year of Release: 1986
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Woody Allen, Michael Caine, Mia Farrow, Carrie Fisher, Barbara Hershey, Lloyd Nolan, Maureen O'Sullivan, Daniel Stern, Max Von Sydow, Sam Waterston, Dianne Wiest, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Julie Kavner, John Turturro, Richard Jenkins, J.T. Walsh, Fred Melamed, Joanna Gleason, Tony Roberts, Helen Miller, Leo Postrel
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 8
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Synopsis and Review:
After the successful "The Purple Rose of Cairo", released in 1985, Woody Allen quickly returned with his yearly feature release, with what turned out to be one of his most critically and commercially successful films, "Hannah and Her Sisters". The film centers around a trio of sisters, with Hannah being the eldest, a somewhat successful actress who is now in her second marriage, with a man named Elliot, a successful financial advisor. Lee, the middle sister, lives with a much older and successful visual artist, though their relationship is strained. The youngest of the sisters, Holly is a struggling actress, who makes ends meet, by running a catering business with her best friend April. As the narrative unfolds, Elliot starts an affair with Lee, while Holly and April cut their business venture short, when a man they're both interested in, gravitates towards April forcing Holly to go in a different direction (she decides to start a writing career). In this microcosms of relationships there's also Mickey, Hannah's hypochondriac first husband, who is a successful TV writer, despite his constant fears of death. As Lee and Elliot's affair comes to a closure, Elliot realizes that Hannah has her vulnerabilities and that his affection and love remains unperturbed, while Lee moves on, while Holly reconnects with Mickey in hopes of some writing feedback.
"Hannah and Her Sisters" in a way crystalizes many of the films that Woody Allen did in the past, but that coalesced perfectly in this tale of three sisters going through relationship hurdles. It's a film that manages to capture the New York milieu envisioned by Woody Allen perfectly, one where everyone is successful or always gives the impression of being successful, living in expansive Manhattan apartments and always connected to the art world. If some of these aspects are somewhat clichés from his work, where the film really reaches a much needed depth, is in the way it tackles the relationship between these well defined characters, establishing a finely tuned web of relationships between all of them, with resentment, emotional withholding, desire and humor permeating across all of them (the first date between Mickey and Holly is hilarious). It's a film that presents a slice of the universe according to its author, showcasing Woody Allen's perspective on love, family, religion, desire, fidelity, all peppered with humor, anguish and great acting from a fantastic ensemble of performers. Michael Caine and Dianne Wiest won the Academy Awards for supporting roles, but Barbara Hershey, Mia Farrow, Lloyd Nolan, Max Von Sydow, all create fully realized characters, ones that are truly memorable. The cinematography from Carlo Di Palma is stunning as is the production design from Stuart Wurtzel. A great film always worth revisiting.
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