Directed by: Woody Allen
Starring: Woody Allen, Michael Caine, Dianne Wiest, Barbara Hershey, Mia Farrow, Lloyd Nolan, Maureen O' Sullivan, Max von Sydow, Sam Waterston
"I heard of a theory that we are doomed to repeat our lives over and over again. That means I'd have to sit through the Ice Capades again." That line is one example of why Woody Allen remains a treasure and movies like Hannah and Her Sisters remain among his very best. It is a series of stories about a New York family that has more than its fair share drama over a two-year period. It begins with a Thanksgiving family gathering and ends with another as the family dynamic experiencing plenty of changes along the way.
Hannah and Her Sisters consists of two major plots around which the rest of the film revolves. All of the subplots are in one way or another connected to the main ones. Plot 1. Hannah's husband Elliott (Caine) is desperately in love with her sister Lee (Hershey). Plot 2. Hannah's ex-husband Mickey (Allen) is a TV producer whose near brush with death forces him to examine the meaning of his life and if it has any at all. The other major players are Hannah's neurotic sister Holly (Wiest), who endures her insecurities with cocaine and alcohol. "You're going to develop a third nostril," Mickey tells her during a date from hell. Another pair of players is the sisters' parents, played by Farrow's real-life mother Maureen O' Sullivan and Lloyd Nolan, a show-biz couple forever arguing and making up.
Plot 1 first: Elliott's crush on Lee does not go unnoticed, but is she prepared to betray her sister by sleeping with her husband? A crucial scene in their relationship occurs on the street, where Lee admits having "certain feelings" for Elliott and he stands on the sidewalk joyously repeating, "I have my answer." The relationship proves to be much more complicated than either realizes.
Plot 2: Mickey, Hannah's hypochondriac ex-husband, receives good news that the ringing in his ears isn't caused by a brain tumor. However, this provides only momentary joy as Mickey realizes death may not come today, but will one day. He quits his job and goes out to seek answers about whether there is a God and what happens after death. He questions priests, rabbis, and even Hare Krishnas, but their answers don't comfort him much. Then again, with a worrywart like Mickey, what would? "I wanted certainty or nothing," he says, not giving himself a lot of wiggle room. Mickey's life is complicated mostly within his own mind. When asking his father why there were Nazis, his father responds, "How do I know why there were Nazis? I can't even get the toaster to work."
The movie provides sufficient resolutions for its characters, all of whom are just living day-to-day trying to find their own happiness. Allen's films are known for witty dialogue and unique insight into the human condition. Hannah and Her Sisters provides even more. Its people are touching, vulnerable, and act with their hearts more than their minds, except for Mickey who may wind up giving himself a brain tumor by thinking so much. But even Mickey finds that "the heart is a resilient little muscle" and may be putting himself through his dilemma in order to avoid plunging into another relationship. It is obvious he loved Hannah when they were married, but drifted apart from her when they had trouble conceiving children. ("Instead of husband and wife, we wound up being just good friends.")
Despite their flaws, weaknesses, and insecurities, we like these people that Allen has presented to us. We want to know where their lives lead them. They have interesting things to say. Hannah and Her Sisters, after all is said and done, is a film with a happy ending for all involved. Things aren't contrived to be that way, it's just that everything works out logically and happily after much reflection. We are happy for them. It is rare that a movie makes us feel this positive about its characters.
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