Guest coverage by David Tapia
At Wondercon this year, Focus Features promoted Hanna, the latest film from Joe Wright starring Saoirse Ronan. The two previously worked together on the Oscar nominated film Atonement, and director and star both showed for a panel in San Francisco.
In the panel there were discussions on aspects of the film as well as showing us extended footage, including a full fight scene filmed almost entirely in one take.
The story centers on a young teen girl (Ronan) who has spent her whole life in cabin with her father, played by Eric Bana, training her to survive out in the wild. With only two books, an Encyclopedia and a Brothers Grimm fairy tale collection, as her only form of education, Hanna is suddenly thrust into the real world, on a mission that takes her away from her home.
To make matters worse she is being chased down by some sort of agency led by Cate Blanchett and it’s up to Hanna to fight them off by any means necessary. While on the run Hanna gets together with a British family as they travel through Europe and for the first time, starts to develop feelings of caring for others. Hanna must kick some serious butt as she attempts to keep them safe from the men who are hunting her down.
The director (Wright) went to discuss how Hanna is his portrayal on what “real” women’s empowerment should be like, instead of what a “current” movie is trying to market. By current movie he means one showing a group of women dressed up in short skirts and school girl outfits with pigtails. Wright expressed his concerns for young women in society today and how we shouldn’t believe some of the BS that is being feed to us by the media.
The director also expressed his excitement for bringing The Chemical Brothers on board early enough that they had the music available while filming. This made it much easier for the actors to get into the right mood, since many shots were single takes.
The movie shot on location from Finland to Morocco, and though it’s being marketed as a Bourne meets Nikita action film, in Wright’s opinion it is really more a coming of age film for the up and coming Saoirse Ronan.
