Smart and engaging, but too many meandering breeze-shooting sequences.
Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:11
Fresh:6
Rotten:5
Average Rating:5.3/10
Consensus: Although not terribly focused, Hannah Takes the Stairs contains refreshing realism.
Runtime: 83 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:09-01-2009
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... 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
Reviews for Hannah Takes the Stairs
It’s never enough to establish any sensitivity or social pertinence beyond the trifling tiffs which are playing out on screen.
Less dazed and confused than mumbling and mundane, this drama focuses on social awkwardness and twentysomething blues. Skipping aimlessly from scene to scene it offers little observations and rewards low expectations.
There’s only so much twentysomething navel-gazing one can listen to before wanting to slap some sense — and some fully formed sentences — into them all.
There is something teeth-grindingly cutesy about the whole thing, reaching epic levels of dippiness in the, ahem, nude trumpet-playing scenes. That makes it sound interesting, come to think of it, and perhaps it is.
Perfectly encapsulates the slow-motion, frustrated feeling of early adulthood, when longing and inchoate desire easily outnumber actual transformative events and achievements.
Gerwig proves herself to be a charming screen presence who manages to make her character somehow appealing despite her utter self-involvement.
Hannah Takes the Stairs is notable for what the movie represents: an evolutionary entry in the Do It Yourself (or D.I.Y.) independent film movement.
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August 21, 2007:
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