Hannah Takes the Stairs

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. **

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.

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).

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.