‘Hanna’ director Joe Wright: Fairy tales, steady-cam shots, possible sequel
I recently chatted with Joe Wright, one of my favorite filmmakers, about his new movie, Hanna and why he came onboard a film with such a fast pace and so much action. He says it was all the fault of Saoirse Ronan, one of his Atonement leading ladies.
He goes into detail about Ronan’s physical preparation for this innocent but deadly character, including stunt work, weapon training, hand to hand battles, stick fighting, and — in one scene — neck-breaking. “Saoirise is capable of anything,” he marveled. “She has an incredibly strong will, not in an aggressive sense but a kind of determination. Also her father is like the irish champion of karate.”
Of course, we had to ask about his incredible extended single camera tracking shot in the subway, which reminds you of his 5 1/2-minute Dunkirk beach steady cam tracking scene.
Except in this case, it wasn’t just a case of simply winding through a battlefield of 1,000 dead and wounded soldiers and horses. That was hard. But the Hanna steady cam tracking shot includes a complex fight scene between Eric Bana and several opponents in an underground train station. That’s really hard.
“I love doing them,” he admitted. “I enjoy the theatricality of it. It’s like putting on a show, really, Everyone gets involved.” But he adds that these challenging shots are born out of necessity to save several days of shooting. And he admits with a smile: “It’s terrifying but that’s the fun of it.”
Told of Saoirse’s thumbs up for a sequel, he doesn’t rule it out. In fact, he would like to see how her E.T-like character (also akin to Chauncey Gardner in Being There reacts to her new world.
Wright’s next project will again be taken from a great work of literature, as was his Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice and Atonment (from Ian McEwan’s novel) was. The new film will be adapted from the Russian novel Anna Karenina, and will star another Atonement (and Chanel fragrance commercial) leading lady Keira Knightly.
Wright will focus on the multi-stranded nature of the novel, incorporating all the other characters’ stories, not just Anna’s. He notes that the screenplay — which is being written by that no-talent hack playwright/screenwriter Tom Stoppard — will feel Robert Altmanesque in structure. Wright is a fan — and was a good friend — of Altman.
“I quite like the idea of blanding all the characters and make it more of an ensemble piece,” he explains.
Until then, sprint, don’t saunter to see Hanna this weekend. It opens on April 8 around the country. And pay close attention during that subway sequence to see Wright’s masterful single camera tracking shot.
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