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Movies / On DVD / Hannah Takes the Stairs
Hannah Takes the Stairs

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Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007)

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Reviews Counted: 35

Fresh: 23

Rotten:12

Average Rating: 6.2/10

Consensus: Although not terribly focused, Hannah Takes the Stairs contains refreshing realism.

Runtime: 83 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Over the course of one hot post-graduate summer, Hannah (Greta Gerwig), falls precariously in and out of love. A breaker of hearts and chronically dissatisfied she finds herself drifting away from her newly unemployed boyfriend (Mark... Over the course of one hot post-graduate summer, Hannah (Greta Gerwig), falls precariously in and out of love. A breaker of hearts and chronically dissatisfied she finds herself drifting away from her newly unemployed boyfriend (Mark Duplass, THE PUFFY CHAIR) and drawn to two of her co-workers, Matt (Kent Osborne) and Paul (Andrew Bujalski, MUTUAL APPRECIATION). Conceived without a traditional script, this triumph of improvisional acting was born from intimate collaboration between director Joe Swanberg, and his cast, which is made up of some of todays most important up and coming independent filmmakers. Alternately heartbreaking and hilarious, and featuring stunning naturalistic performances, HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS is a delicate look at friendship, ambition, and the pursuit of happiness that heralds the return of a truly independent form of American moviemaking. -- © IFC Films [More]

Starring: Greta Gerwig, Kent Osborne, Andrew Bujalski

Starring: Greta Gerwig, Kent Osborne, Andrew Bujalski

Director: Joe Swanberg

Director: Joe Swanberg
Producer: Joe Swanberg
Composer: Kevin Bewersdorf
Studio: IFC Films

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Reviews for Hannah Takes the Stairs

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Ratings Image

Goes full blast on geek chatter.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
07/07/08
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Ratings Image

Joe Swanberg's film wears out its welcome about halfway through its 83 minutes.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
11/30/07
G. Allen Johnson
San Francisco Chronicle
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Swanberg can be playful behind the camera -- he has a taste for Godardian jump cuts -- and his sense of color is crisp. Gerwig, his millennial Jean Seberg, is no pixie; her captivating ordinariness helps hold the movie together.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
10/26/07
Marrit Ingman
Austin Chronicle
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[Director] Swanberg nails the inane fun of youth.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/19/07
Bill Stamets
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

No one involved seems to have any thoughts about why people are selfish and cruel to each other, but they're more than willing to complain about it.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
10/18/07
Matt Pais
Metromix.com
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Chop off a star if you're not up for highly experimental cinema.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
10/18/07
Sid Smith
Chicago Tribune
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When it works, it works like a charm.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
09/28/07
Jeff Shannon
Seattle Times
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Perfectly encapsulates the slow-motion, frustrated feeling of early adulthood, when longing and inchoate desire easily outnumber actual transformative events and achievements.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
09/28/07
Carina Chocano
Los Angeles Times
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Ratings Image

Performances help raise Hannah Takes the Stairs above the realm of self-indulgent cinema to something worth seeing.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
09/27/07
Andy Spletzer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Ratings Image

Gerwig is a modest (like everything in Mumblecore) revelation in the role, with a lithe, teasing sexuality and a vibrant personality that seems to be darting off in as many directions as her tousled blonde hair.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
09/27/07
Scott Foundas
L.A. Weekly
Ratings Image

Looks like it should be on an Off Off Off Broadway play in the Village...

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
09/15/07
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
Ratings Image

Gerwig proves herself to be a charming screen presence who manages to make her character somehow appealing despite her utter self-involvement.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
09/14/07
Frank Scheck
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Hannah is charmingly self-absorbed without the extenuating circumstance of self-knowledge. Above all, she's young. The movie forgives her for that and, with occasional misgivings, so do we.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
09/07/07
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
Ratings Image

Hannah (Greta Gerwig), the peroxided heroine, leaps from one hookup to the next, but is she searching for passion or just treading water? In the new generational film movement that's been dubbed 'Mumblecore,' it's often hard to tell the difference.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
09/05/07
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
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Swanberg is accurately charting the social rituals of the young and inarticulate.

Full Review Source: Onion AV Club | comment Comment
08/25/07
Noel Murray
Onion AV Club
Ratings Image

Note to anyone who stumbles into this snoozefest: forget about taking the stairs—head straight for the nearest exit.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
08/24/07
Gary Goldstein
Reel.com
Ratings Image

Gerwig actually gives her insufferable character some verve -- the actress has potential -- but the remainder of the movie is a slice of life that doesn't much show much life.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
08/24/07
Frank Lovece
Film Journal International
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The fumbling banalities spouted by the characters belie the prior achievements of the actors making them up.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
08/23/07
Jan Stuart
Newsday
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[Actor] Gerwig [turns] her terminally anxious character into a poster girl for an entire subset of young women on the verge. Every generation gets the Darling they deserve. We now have ours.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
08/23/07
David Fear
Time Out New York
Ratings Image

Joe Swanberg’s charming comedy Hannah Takes the Stairs marks the Chicago-based filmmaker’s third feature, but his first to land theatrical distribution.

Full Review Source: New York Press | comment Comment
08/22/07
Eric Kohn
New York Press
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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August 21, 2007: RT Talks With Hannah Takes the Stairs' Joe Swanberg
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