Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007)

Director:

Joe Swanberg

Writers:

Joe Swanberg (writer) and
Greta Gerwig (writer) ...

Release Date:

22 August 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Hannah is a recent college graduate interning at a Chicago production company. She is crushing on two writers at work...

Plot Keywords:

Mumblecore | Character Name In Title

Cast

Greta Gerwig	...	Hannah
Kent Osborne	...	Matt
Andrew Bujalski	...	Paul
Ry Russo-Young	...	Rocco
Mark Duplass	...	Mike
Todd Rohal	...	Brian Duges
Tipper Newton	...	Minnie
Kris Williams	...	Gaby
Ivan Albertson	...	Stephen
Kevin Bewersdorf	...	Guy Who Lays Down
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nathan Adloff	...	Friend at Party

Runtime:

USA:83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Film Science

Trivia:

Shot without a script.

Movie Connections:

References "The Muppet Show" (1976)

Talk, talk, talk!

What's the cheapest way to make a movie? Have two actors in a room talk to each other. That seems to be the case with "Hannah Takes the Stairs", an ultra-low budget film making the rounds in the art house theatres.

The film is rather claustrophobic since most of the action takes place in just a few rooms, with what appears to be the occasional "stolen shot" outside. I say stolen because filming permits in a big city are rather expensive and the outdoor set ups have a "quick, get the shot and get out before the cops see us" feel to them (these shots only run a few seconds, which is the main indication).

The characters talk about their lives and work, talk some more, have sex, talk some more, talk, talk, etc. The occasional nude scene keeps the audience awake, but with no real story to propel the film along I found it to be quite a snoozer.

Not too surprisingly, all dialog was improvised—-and it shows. Scenes ramble on for quite some time and even though the film is less than an hour-and-a-half, it seems quite longer.

Filmmakers, please write a script and actually have a plot. Without it, the most attractive actors and locations in the world aren't worth much if you can't keep your audience interested.