Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Obligatory "Woody Allen opens a film like no one else is capable of, always in an amazing engaging way" sentence. Seriously though, I say this every time because it's always true. By this point, I would be shocked if a Woody Allen film had a poor opening. The 1986 feature of Woody Allen's found him starring as a hypochondriac ex-husband of Hannah (Mia Farrow) and examined the lives of she and her sisters and their various life trials over the span of two years at Thanksgiving. Hannah and Her Sisters was another of Allen's film to have a largely serious tone as the issues of infidelity and the meaning of life was explored. Through Hannah and Her Sisters, Woody Allen achieved, again, the depth of raw human emotions and the power they can have over someone.Sisters Hannah (Mia Farrow), Holly (Dianne Wiest), and Lee (Barbara Hershey) had their share of upheaval raised by showbiz parents. Their mother believes she is still in her prime and able to woo any man which usually means she is neglectful towards the girls' father. With a family full of people who were ill-equipped to take care of themselves, Hannah stepped up and acted as the chief adult of the family, tending to everyone's needs and pushing her own aside. This aspect of Hannah's life has extended into her marriage. Hannah's husband Elliot (Michael Caine) has grown bored of his marriage to the saint that he thinks Hannah is and has moved his attention toward her sister, Lee. Lee is a vulnerable alcoholic seemingly awaiting someone to take her on as a project and make her into a functioning adult. Lee has lived with Frederick (Max Von Sydow) for years as he teaches her about art and life and gives him some connection to the outside world, as he detests everyone except Lee. Holly is struggling with her calling in life as she goes to countless auditions trying to make it as an artist and also run the catering business with her friend as her other pet project. Holly, especially, goes to Hannah for everything including money to survive. Hannah is the only one who has a good handle on her life. She believes she has a good marriage, she has a good relationship with her ex-husband, Mickey (Woody Allen) whom she shares two children with. Hannah wants so badly for everyone in her life to be happy that she even set up Mickey with her sister Holly after her divorce. Sometimes, though, being the one who always fixes every problem they come across can make those closest to them feel unneeded, feelings Elliot blames for pursuing an affair with Hannah's sister. When he contemplates telling Hannah he is in love with Lee, the perfect life Hannah has tried so diligently to manage may crash under the weight of her husband;'s unfulfillment.Hannah and Her Sisters is largely told as two independent stories only occasionally intersecting and that format works for me anyway, but especially with the brilliant writing and directing of Woody Allen. Acting and the relatability of the characters usually have little influence over how I view a film. Hannah and Her Sisters, however, had a character so relatable to me, I felt like I was watching myself on screen. Always the philosopher, I struggle with the concept of life and its meaning and the purpose of a finite existence. Because I am so uneasy about a number of questions I struggle with about life and their persistence in my mind, the character of Mickey was one that hit especially close to my heart. Many a night have found me waking up in a cold sweat with the sudden realization that we are spinning on a ball in space that will someday cease to exist, driven to a dread that I can't shake without talking myself down. I'm basically a female version of Woody Allen which probably explains why I've held a soft spot in my heart all these years for his films. It's either that or the fact that I never want to visit New York as much as I do after watching one of his films, either or, probably.

The thing that stood out to me watching this film is just how good Allen is in it. Every time he's on screen, the film is far more enjoyable. He's genuinely very funny here. I personally believed that he benefits here from not being on screen throughout. I felt Michael Caine was perhaps the worst performance of everyone here, and felt his section of the film was frustrating and uninteresting throughout. I expected something clever to come out and make it all make sense, but that never happened sadly. This means the film ups and downs as it cuts between characters and stories. Inconsistent then, but worth a watch.

"Hannah and Her Sisters" is another Comedy movie made by Woody Allen. In this movie we have three sisters Hannah, Holly and Lee. Everything started when Hannah's husband falls in love with her sister Lee and her hypochondriac ex-husband starts a relationship with her other sister Holly.I liked this movie because is a classic Woody Allen movie with a nice plot which includes also some very god twists and the direction made and written by him. In addition to this they have to be mentioned some very good interpretations such as Michael Caine's who played as Hannah's husband, Mia Farrow's who played as Hannah, Barbara Hershey's who played as Hannah's sister Lee and last but not least Woody Allen's who played as Hannah's ex-husband.Lastly I have to say that "Hannah and Her Sisters" is a nice movie to watch because it combines very well Comedy with Drama and I believe that it's one of the best movies of Woody Allen. I strongly recommend it to everyone.

Hannah (Mia Farrow)'s husband Elliot (Michael Caine) is secretly infatuated with her sister Lee (Barbara Hershey). Lee is living with old artist Frederick (Max von Sydow). Her other sister Holly (Dianne Wiest) asks her for $2000 to start a catering business. Holly is a former cocaine addict and an actress. She starts the business with her friend April (Carrie Fisher) but they end up competing for a role and architect (Sam Waterston). There's also sketch-TV producer and Hannah's ex-husband Mickey (Woody Allen). The beauty of this movie is that every character is fascinating. Every story is compelling. There isn't a bad section. Woody is neurotically funny. Everybody is doing great work. It is one of Woody's best.