After seeing so many of his films, it's easy to forget that Woody Allen is a great filmmaker. Although a director as proflic as Allen has made film that range from masterpiece (Annie Hall, Interiors) to garbage (Everyone Says I Love You) the truly great movies in his ouvre make delving into his huge filmography worthwile. Hannah and Her Sisters is such a picture.
At this point, it's customary to describe the plot, but this film does not have one, at least, a conventional sequence of events. It's collection of different intrigues regarding people who know Hannah (Mia Farrow). They include her two sisters of the title, Lee (Barbara Hershey), who is an unsatisfied relationship with Frederick (Max Von Sydow), a much older artist; the insecure Holly (Diane Wiest), who is hoping to start a relationship with an architect (Sam Waterson), Hannah's husband Elliot (Michael Caine), who is infuated with Lee, Hannah's parents (Lloyd Nolan and Maureen O'Sullivan), who fight constantly; and family friend Mickey (Woody Allen) who may be terminally ill with a brain tumor.
One of the major problems that usually happens in a movie like this is that one or more the stories simply aren't very interesting, and that is not true here-all the pieces fit together perfectly. For a director often critized for poorly structured films, this is quiet an achievment. The acting is all suberb, but I thought that the real standouts were Allen himself in his most dramatic role and Caine, who manages to be both fully human while is character does rather immature and slimy things.
Also, unusual for Woody Allen is that this is his most life-affirming film, the eternal pessimest manages to end his film on a magical, positive note. This is a great film, and is the kind of work that Allen will be rememberd for.
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)