Hannah Takes The Stairs (2007/Genius Entertainment/IFC DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C Extras: C Feature: C
Trying to
emulate John Cassavetes and Woody Allen used to be a very common thing in
independent comedy and drama, until the so-called “mumblecore” movement
produced endlessly bad, tired and usually very forgettable productions that
show why a new generation got so lost in the first place. That is why at first, writer/director Joe
Swanberg’s Hannah Takes The Stairs
(2007) seemed very promising and funny.
Unfortunately, it collapses into more mumbling and looses its way.
At least
it was interesting and promising briefly.
Great
Gerwig is the title character, trying to find happiness and the future, but has
the usual doubts. She has a guy she
likes, but wonders if he is the one. In
the meantime, she’ll continue to get wild with her friends and explore her
options. Than the whole thing tapers off
into flatness, showing all ran out of ideas.
The cast is not bad either, but Swanberg becomes complacent somehow and
it all ends early. This runs 83 minutes.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image seems to have originated on digital
video of some kind, can be consistent, but also has more than its share of
motion blur. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
is not as good, with some location recording being hollow or even having
echo. Extras include deleted “duges”, a
behind-the-scenes piece, SXSW Diary, short film Thanks For The Add! and audio commentary by Swanberg
- Nicholas Sheffo
