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04/23/09
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Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007)
58
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Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:45
Fresh:26
Rotten:19
Average Rating:5.8/10
Consensus: Although not terribly focused, Hannah Takes the Stairs contains refreshing realism.
Theatrical Release:Aug 22, 2007 Limited
Synopsis: Over the course of one hot post-graduate summer, Hannah (Greta Gerwig), falls precariously in and out of love. A breaker of hearts and chronically dissatisfied she finds herself drifting away from... [More]
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Reviews for Hannah Takes the Stairs
It’s never enough to establish any sensitivity or social pertinence beyond the trifling tiffs which are playing out on screen.
01/09/09
The film meanders along in conversational style, encouraging improvisational realism but also the thought that maybe these middle-class characters, not quite slackers, are less interesting than they, or the director, think they are.
01/09/09
Gerwig's talents might be better displayed in some form of scripted or structured film rather than this erratic warts 'n' all waste of time.
08/21/07
Looks like it should be on an Off Off Off Broadway play in the Village...
09/15/07
Gerwig actually gives her insufferable character some verve -- the actress has potential -- but the remainder of the movie is a slice of life that doesn't much show much life.
08/24/07
Joe Swanberg's film wears out its welcome about halfway through its 83 minutes.
11/30/07
Note to anyone who stumbles into this snoozefest: forget about taking the stairs—head straight for the nearest exit.
08/24/07
Less dazed and confused than mumbling and mundane, this drama focuses on social awkwardness and twentysomething blues. Skipping aimlessly from scene to scene it offers little observations and rewards low expectations.
01/09/09
The fumbling banalities spouted by the characters belie the prior achievements of the actors making them up.
08/23/07
Top CriticUnfocused and indulgent.
03/28/07
Top CriticThis do-it-your effort, shot in HD, would be nothing without hazel-eyed Greta Gerwig as Hannah, Meg Ryan-cute with a tousled Jean Seberg hairdo.
08/21/07
The loose, rambling conversations that substitute for action might be more interesting if any of the characters were capable of real introspection.
08/22/07
No one involved seems to have any thoughts about why people are selfish and cruel to each other, but they're more than willing to complain about it.
10/18/07
At what cost, naturalism?
08/15/07
Hannah Takes the Stairs, the latest comedy of mannerisms in the “mumblecore” style, is maddening for 60 of its 83 minutes.
01/09/09
There is something teeth-grindingly cutesy about the whole thing, reaching epic levels of dippiness in the, ahem, nude trumpet-playing scenes. That makes it sound interesting, come to think of it, and perhaps it is.
01/09/09
The result is a mesh of creative sensibilities that never quite congeals.
06/25/07
For every revelatory moment of sharp perception there’s an eternity of goofy smiles, stuttered dialogue and embarrassed glances.
01/09/09
There’s only so much twentysomething navel-gazing one can listen to before wanting to slap some sense — and some fully formed sentences — into them all.
01/09/09
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August 21, 2007:
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