I’m a relative late-comer to the Joe Swanberg film offerings specifically and to “mumblecore” as a sub-genre as a whole, having only really discovered the films in the last year or so. But in that time I’ve become a big fan of Swanberg’s style of filmmaking and the relatively realistic emotions that come through to the audience via a combination of his writing and directing and the fact that the actors in these pictures are often non-professionals or, if they are, seem to be capable of reaching into places that elude most top-tier stars.
Hannah Takes the Stairs was one that I was very much looking forward to, having been a big fan of (most of) the campaign that had been mounted for its theatrical release. The movie, about a young woman and her group of friends, co-workers and lovers - all of whom are looking for “happiness” in some form or another, mainly through coital pairings. This leads to relationships and friendships that cross all sorts of established boundaries, intentional breaks that are made in spite of what could be called social patterns or other good manners.
While I greatly admire the talents of Swanberg and his group of fellow movement makers, when I reflect upon the films after watching them I find most of the characters to be insufferable twits. There is so much navel-gazing about themselves feeling happy and fulfilled that they are completely unaware of the people around them, leading to the self-motivated actions. Not one of these characters seems to believe that hard work, faith in God or anything else that might not be delivered to them on a silver platter are even options.
So while Hannah Takes the Stairs is exemplary film-making that remains interesting and engaging, the characters more often than not are insufferable twits.
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Chris Thilk