Hannah Takes the Stairs
IFC Films | Release Date: August 22, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
3
Negative:
2

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Film ThreatDon R. Lewis
What really elevates Hannah Takes the Stairs is the truly outstanding performance by Greta Gerwig. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarrit Ingman
The film has no script; it goes from moment to moment unhurriedly. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
How can a movie with such a charming cast (let's not forget Ry Russo-Young as Hannah's female roommate) and believable dialogue (seemingly taken from the actors' real lives) go wrong? It can't. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
Doesn't rise to the level of Bujalski's breakthrough feature "Mutual Appreciation," mainly because Swanberg doesn't have Bujalski's eye. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Shot with intentionally banal anti-style - minimal soundtrack music, found sound, jitter-cam - the movie achieves a wisdom that's bigger than it seems. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerAndy Spletzer
Though the dialogue feels improvised and honest, the movie is less honest in creating its world. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneSid Smith
Intimacy is graphically portrayed, down to recurring moments in a bathtub, including a memorable duet trumpet rendition of “The 1812 Overture.” Chop off a star if you’re not up for highly experimental cinema. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
Like most of the men in the film, we would happily follow her anywhere. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
There's something to be said for cinema this perversely naturalistic. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
What defines the slacker-geek twentysomething men and women who wander through Joe Swanberg's too-hip-to-be-romantic comedy Hannah Takes the Stairsis that they treat their libidos as minor accessories -- only to stammer through every casual conversation as if they were on a first Internet date. Read full review
60
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
The film's intimacy never feels fake, it's sporadically and unpredictably funny (I didn't exactly enjoy the cacophonous trumpet duet of the "1812 Overture," but I won't soon forget it), and the nonprofessional cast is surprisingly good. Read full review
50
The New York TimesMatt Zoller Seitz
Less notable for its story than for what the movie itself represents: an evolutionary entry in the so-called Do It Yourself (or D.I.Y.) independent film movement. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen Johnson
Though it has merit and is recommended for the curious and adventurous, Joe Swanberg's film wears out its welcome about halfway through its 83 minutes. I'd say it doesn't go anywhere, but that's the point of these movies. Read full review
38
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The loose, rambling conversations that substitute for action might be more interesting if any of the characters were capable of real introspection. But they're so shallow and distracted they can't even manage sustained navel-gazing, which makes their so-called relationships profoundly uninteresting. Read full review
30
VarietyJoe Leydon
Has the unmistakable look and feel of a micro-budget indie produced for a small circle of friends, many of whom are listed in the credits. Read full review
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