Hannah Takes the Stairs

No, "Hannah Takes the Stairs" is NOT a perfect movie, or even a great movie, or even a movie that I feel the desire to ever watch again. But, it still is worthwhile, it still has plenty of entertainment value, humor, heart, sadness, happiness, and so on and so forth. The film takes the typical "mumblecore" approach to things; the cast is made up of quirky, often romantically involved twentysomethings, the budget is extremely low, the dialogue feels improvised, but still clever, the comedy is awkward, the drama is slight, but still impactful. This film in particular embodies all of these characteristics to its own advantage, and felt stunningly realistic. Although the production value is blatantly low, the acting is strong, particularly Greta Gerwig's performance, which is at least somewhat responsible for kickstarting her career, which has obviously developed quite a bit over the past ten years! Her character is flawed, but she is also always likable. She and the rest of those populating the screen feel like real, well developed human beings. These are characters who I feel like I've met before...I've passed by them in life, I may have even befriended them. And now, on an unbiased screen, I can witness their rises, their falls, their good times, and their bad ones.

When the movie started, with the amateur filming and uninteresting boobies scene, I almost turned it off right away. I ended up watching more, and really got into it. Of course it's nothing special, it's filmed like a low-budget TV series, but what makes it interesting is that it feels real. The characters are real, the story is real, the problems are real. I felt like I was watching a reality show with people who have relationship issues that I could relate to. Obviously, if you don't like reality shows, chances are you probably won't like this. Hannah was fun to watch, although she's a bit annoying at times. Overall I really enjoyed this simplistic home movie, it was very pleasant and real. The only thing I disliked was how it ended so abruptly, I wanted more!

Hannah is so self-absorbed, she doesn't even realize she is. She laments that the world is full of self-absorbed people and that everyday gestures of friendliness are rooted in fear of the dark side of others. And yet she seems to give nothing worthwhile of herself and seems oblivious to the needs of others or the ramifications of her actions. She is drifting aimlessly, momentarily amused by the affections of men with whom she rapidly bores. Nonetheless, she is fascinating to watch. Excellent acting with brilliant unspoken subtext, which is critical, since Hannah is largely inarticulate. If you know any lost 20-somethings, you will recognize them in this. Many scenes go on too long, the dialog is bland and mundane. The men are cute and like to cuddle. The women confused and uninspiring.

"Hannah Takes the Stairs" is a really low-budget, independent film. Congrats to the filmmakers for getting it made and out there for anyone to see.

They started out with a great simple boy and girl storyline which fit their means perfectly. They respected the audience by making all of the plot points quickly, and effectively moving through all the scenes. However, they did not seem to show this same respect for the main character Hannah. She was self-absorbed, irritating and completely unrelatable. By the end of the movie (if you make it that far) you just don't care if Hannah finds what she's looking for or not.

Should you see this movie? Probably not. But I do believe that all independent films deserve our support. Here's hoping their next effort is better.

Hannah's a youthful but ridiculously bright Chicagoan and recent college graduate interning at a production company, but she's not entirely satisfied in her relationship with her current boyfriend. She feels comfortable in the workplace and is crushing on a few of the men there, so will this give her a chance to find a new suitor? Better question for the viewer: should you care either way? Low-budget indie kitsch that's meant to feel raw and real, but instead is just a collection of dull, fatuous characters sitting around gabbing about nothing particularly invigorating, showing off their middling instrumental skills, breaking into random dance moves, getting physical when the urge hits, so on and so forth, but none of it really carries much weight and the occasional shots of Chicago scenery thrown in do absolutely nothing to redeem it. So-called naturalistic filmmaking, just not at its finest reportedly allowed the movie to be shot without a script, and it clearly shows as it's without an incisive narrative to keep the viewer engaged. **