Hannah Takes the Stairs

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.

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 Takes The Stairs has poor production values, a slow pace, boring locations, and no actors you have ever heard of, and that's what makes this film so special. This is clearly a film made by a group of friends and artists, exploring their lives and the art of film-making simultaneously. It's simplistic rawness allows for an honest, and at times voyeuristic tone that examines the simple difficulties of young people learning to make grown-up decisions. This film is certainly not for everyone, but if you can forgive the ultra-low budget blemishes it is very worthwhile. In many ways, Hannah Takes the Stairs is the future of film-making that Francis Ford Coppola predicted in Hearts of Darkness.

The amazing thing about the word "mumblecore" is that it tells you exactly what you're getting into, even though it also sounds like nonsense.

I haven't seen many movies that can be characterized as mumblecore movies, but Hannah Takes the Stairs was definitely one of them. The main reason to watch it is Greta Gerwig, who's the best part of this (and was a co-writer... though that could just be because much of it seems improvised, and she was in almost every scene).

The premise is really the main thing to get over, given it revolves around Gerwig's character moving between various dudes whom she seems too good for. It's all uncomfortable and irritating at points, but I guess that's the point; that's the mumble at the core of a film like this, hard at work. There were definitely some funny parts and a couple of scenes that stood out. It left me feeling strange and a bit tired, but at least it wasn't long, either.

Verdict: not good, but also not bad? It might be worth a watch for people who can tolerate this style of filmmaking (which I understand is not too many).

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.