"Hannah and Her Sisters" is, I admit, my first Woody Allen movie. How it compares to his other pictures I cannot say, but it is structured differently than any movie I have ever seen. Not only does it have a convoluted, branching plot with multiple, completely independent stories, but it is divided up into individual chapters, each preceded by a caption on a black screen with its title, ranging from a single word to an E. E. Cummings line of poetry. Had I not read another review of the film I would never have noticed its theme of our emotions and desires clouding our plans and decisions. In fact, it could easily be perceived as simply a sample of random vignettes to the unobservant.
The movie spans at least a couple years, primarily following the misadventures of two characters - Mickey (Woody Allen) and Elliot (Michael Caine). Mickey, portraying Allen's (apparently) familiar personality of an extremely neurotic, paranoid man, embarks on a quest for the meaning of life (I will try to refrain from any Hitchhiker's Guide references) after being tested for a brain tumor and coming face-to-face with death. In what is easily the most humorous moment in the film, Mickey tries out various religions as he might samples of sausage or cheese in a grocery store. His quest is the most engaging and charming part of the movie.
The other main story involves Elliot's affair and the relationship between him, his wife Hannah (Mia Farrow), and her sister, Lee (Barbara Hershey). Although Elliot's plight is understandable, I found myself more irritated with him than sympathetic - his character is emotional and irrational, and yet very cold and defensive at times as well. Although he was well-acted and deep as a character, my distaste for him rather hurt my liking for the movie's style and flow.
The characters are all related in one way or another. I could not entirely even keep up with all of the character and their relationship to each other. Essentially, Frederick is married to Lee, who has an affair with Eliot, whose wife is Hannah, Lee's sister, whose ex-husband is Mickey, who eventually marries Holly, Hannah's sister. I would not want to be the one who has to draw up a family tree for a special feature somewhere - although, ironically, there are no children mentioned in the film.
In the end, "Hannah and Her Sisters" is a movie that leaves one with a feeling of respect more than enjoyment - although the skill at work here is obvious, with great dialogue and deep characters, but the movie is clouded by too many characters and subplots, and seemingly random events. The characters aside from a central four or so (Mickey, Elliot, Lee and Hannah) are shallow and thinly drawn, standing out like typical movie stereotypes in an otherwise very real world. Also, I must admit I have a bit of a bias against this particular genre. Thus, the film earns a B-.
The movie spans at least a couple years, primarily following the misadventures of two characters - Mickey (Woody Allen) and Elliot (Michael Caine). Mickey, portraying Allen's (apparently) familiar personality of an extremely neurotic, paranoid man, embarks on a quest for the meaning of life (I will try to refrain from any Hitchhiker's Guide references) after being tested for a brain tumor and coming face-to-face with death. In what is easily the most humorous moment in the film, Mickey tries out various religions as he might samples of sausage or cheese in a grocery store. His quest is the most engaging and charming part of the movie.
The other main story involves Elliot's affair and the relationship between him, his wife Hannah (Mia Farrow), and her sister, Lee (Barbara Hershey). Although Elliot's plight is understandable, I found myself more irritated with him than sympathetic - his character is emotional and irrational, and yet very cold and defensive at times as well. Although he was well-acted and deep as a character, my distaste for him rather hurt my liking for the movie's style and flow.
The characters are all related in one way or another. I could not entirely even keep up with all of the character and their relationship to each other. Essentially, Frederick is married to Lee, who has an affair with Eliot, whose wife is Hannah, Lee's sister, whose ex-husband is Mickey, who eventually marries Holly, Hannah's sister. I would not want to be the one who has to draw up a family tree for a special feature somewhere - although, ironically, there are no children mentioned in the film.
In the end, "Hannah and Her Sisters" is a movie that leaves one with a feeling of respect more than enjoyment - although the skill at work here is obvious, with great dialogue and deep characters, but the movie is clouded by too many characters and subplots, and seemingly random events. The characters aside from a central four or so (Mickey, Elliot, Lee and Hannah) are shallow and thinly drawn, standing out like typical movie stereotypes in an otherwise very real world. Also, I must admit I have a bit of a bias against this particular genre. Thus, the film earns a B-.