Hannah And Her Sisters

By Simon Woodhouse

Hannah And Her Sisters is a Woody Allen film, and Woody Allen is one of those actors/directors/writers people seem to either love or hate. There's no middle ground. I love his work, and this movie is amongst his best, but if you don't like him it probably contains all the things that bug you.

As the title suggests, the movie tells the story of Hannah (Mia Farrow) and her two sisters, Holly (Dianne Wiest) and Lee (Barbara Hershey). The off spring of show business parents, the three women all live in New York and lead intertwined lives. Hannah, the most stable of the bunch, is a stay-at-home mom who's married to Elliot (Michael Caine), a successful financial adviser. Holly wants to follow in her parent's footsteps and break into showbiz, but her career path lacks direction, and constant rejections are taking their toll on her. The third sister, Lee, lives with temperamental Frederick (Max Von Sydow), an overbearing, intellectually superior painter who treats her more like a child than a partner. Other characters weave their way in and out of the story, the most notable of which being Woody Allen himself, playing the role of Mickey, Hannah's ex-husband.

Though there are several subplots, as you'd expect in a film revolving around three main characters, the central story involves Lee and an affair she has with Elliot, her sister's husband. Confused by her relationship with domineering Frederick, Lee nonetheless resists Elliot's attempts at seduction for as long as she can. However, when he makes a clumsy pass at her she caves in, and the affair begins. Running parallel to this plot is the story of Holly and her attempts to further her showbiz career. The acting is going nowhere though, so she borrows more money from Hannah and tries to set up a small catering company with her friend April (Carrie Fisher). The two women however, start to squabble over a man and Holly takes it badly. Yet another subplot involves Mickey. A neurotic, wimpy hypochondriac (a role Woody Allen has perfected over the years), the man's convinced he's dying of every ailment under the sun, but specifically a brain tumor. This is the funniest of the films multiple story threads, and at times is hilarious. Whether Allen saved the best lines for himself on purpose is hard to say, however he delivers a whole host of really funny one-liners with his trademark deadpan demeanor, and they rival anything he's done before or since.

The affair between Lee and Elliot isn't really meant to be humorous, and the fall out affects both of their relationships with their respective partners. It also casts Elliot as a hopelessly selfish character, someone who wants Lee but at the same time is afraid to leave Hannah. Holly continues to drift from one unsuccessful acting audition to the next, gets nowhere, and eventually decides she wants to try writing and so borrows even more money from Hannah. Though the most stable of the three, Hannah begins to crack as she senses Elliot is drifting away from her, feels pressure from Holly to be less judgmental, and can see how miserable Lee's affair is making her, even though she doesn't suspect it's with her own husband.

Though this all sounds like a bit of a soap opera, Allen's writing and directing never lets any of the characters wallow in too much self-pity. There are also plenty of little individual scenes featuring one off characters, that don't really have anything to do with the overall story, but provide the necessary humorous moments to make the bleaker elements seem less so. Chief amongst these are Frederick's argument about art with an aspiring rock star, and Mickey's disastrous date with Holly.

The various story elements come together at the end, and it's a happy finale. The sisters stay friends, find happiness with existing or new partners, and New York life moves on. Each of the three principle actresses perform admirably, but it's Dianne Wiest who really shines. Michael Caine is also excellent as the weak-willed Elliot, and both he and Wiest deserved their Oscars (best supporting actress and best supporting actor respectively). Allen plays the role of Mickey as if he's not really acting at all, and as mentioned earlier, steals the show when it comes to laughs.

Considering the movie is a product of one man's mind - Allen's, it's not too much of an exaggeration to call it a work of genius. The dialogue, whether light and witty or heavy and dramatic, flows as if it's not being performed at all. All of the principle players display subtle little character traits that make them seem all the more human. The story moves along at just the right pace, and considering there's so much going on, it feels neither rushed nor crowded. For those who don't like Woody Allen movies, there's probably nothing here to change the way you feel, but for anyone who appreciates what he does, or who's never watched any of his work, this is a must see. Ten out of ten.