Hannah and Her Sisters
Metascore
90 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 12 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
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  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    Allen's writing and directing style is so strong and assured in this film that the actual filmmaking itself becomes a narrative voice.
  2. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Gene Siskel
    100
    A joy to behold, a complex film that never loses either its sense of purpose or sense of humor. [7 February 1986, Friday, p.33]
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  3. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Gerald Nachman
    100
    Sad funny and richly romantic, everything that makes Allen’s movies so beloved. [7 February 1986, Daily Notebook p.76]
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  4. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Sheila Benson
    100
    Mellow, beautiful, rich and brimming with love, "Hannah" is the best Woody Allen yet and, quite simply, a great film. [7 February 1986, Calendar, p.6-1]
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  5. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Vincent Canby
    100
    Virtually nonstop exhilaration--a dramatic comedy not quite like any other, and one that sets new standards for Mr. Allen as well as for all American moviemakers. [7 February 1986]
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  6. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Corliss
    100
    Hannah and Her Sisters is old-fashioned in another sense: its plot has the elegant geometry of a Philip Barry play. [Feb 3, 1986]
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  7. Variety
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    100
    He (Allen) makes nary a misstep from beginning to end in charting the amorous affiliations of three sisters and their men over a two-year period.
  8. Film.com
    Reviewed by: John Hartl
    90
    There's a sense of ease and contentment to it that has never been so prominent in Allen's work before.
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  9. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Staff(not credited)
    80
    Allen has infused it with wit, a superb cast and his usual "the best direction is the least direction" style.
  10. The New Republic
    Reviewed by: Stanley Kauffmann
    70
    At least we know this Allen persona, whatever his current name; the other characters, starting from scratch, don't get much past scratch. Although the picture spreads its attention fairly evenly among them, most of them end up as supporting cast because they are only life-size puppets. [Feb 10, 1986]
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  11. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Dave Kehr
    70
    There's no real resonance between the two halves of the film, yet Allen keeps things moving quickly enough that the film only reveals its basic shapelessness once it's over.
  12. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not credited)
    63
    "It's one of the problems I have with Hannah. I feel I haven't gone deeply enough." Should Woody Allen ever tire of making movies, he can take up criticizing them.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.5 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 28 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Trev29
    8
    It is a funny charming movie. The highlight is Woody Allen's character who is just a complete mess, but its great. it is charming and is a nice holiday movie, even though it really has nothing to do with the holiday season.… Full Review »
  2. JMH
    10
    Woody Allen's magnificent Hannah and Her Sisters plays out like a novel on screen, parsed into chapters by white-on-black quotes, or snippets of dialog, that announce the beginning of each scene. The film's chapters tell intertwined stories of an extended family of Manhattanites, centered largely around Hannah (Mia Farrow), the oldest of three sisters, Hannah, Holly (Dianne Wiest), and Lee (Barbara Hershey). The stories link at three family Thanksgivings at Hannah's apartment, shared with her husband Elliot (Michael Caine), at the beginning, middle, and end of the film. Each story is distinguished by its own soundtrack, and sometimes by its own pace, look, and/or location. Hannah and Elliot have marriage troubles. Elliot's infatuated, and starts an affair, with Lee. Holly's aimless, trying and failing to find satisfaction, repeatedly, taking "solace" in a self-destructive drug habit. Alongside this mix is Mickey (Allen), who's learned he may have a brain tumor and finds himself on a quest to make meaning of life in the face of death. Each story provides a window into the complex decisions adults make -- whether right or wrong -- when confronted with circumstances they hardly apprehend. Allen treats right and wrong choices with the same degree of tolerance, and ultimately with a blind-but-necessary optimism -- a belief that, next time around, a person might just do better. The film's feats are numerous. Effortless mixing of drama and comedy. Thematic and personal bonds uniting seemingly disparate characters and stories. Crafty direction that juggles the pieces but fits them together. This is perhaps Allen's most richly acted film; it's certainly one of his most richly written. His assured storytelling and directing exhibit a marked maturation of his skills. Hannah and Her Sisters is a great, and now classic, film.… Full Review »
  3. J-Shap
    9
    This is one of Allen's most well-rounded movies, with the same depth of his earlier pictures, melded with a more romantic picture of this phase. It's a major accomplishment, not only as one of Allen's quirkiest comedies, but finally one of Allen's tributes where he realizes not to mimic his idol, but to take similarities and repackage them as his own.… Full Review »
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