Hannah and Her Sisters

Hannah and Her Sisters is a 1986 romantic comedy film which tells the story of an extended family, all of whose demons begin to erupt during a family Thanksgiving dinner. The movie was written and directed by Woody Allen and stars Mia Farrow as Hannah, with Barbara Hershey and Dianne Wiest as her sisters.

Plot

The story is told in three main arcs, with almost all of it occurring during a twelve-month period beginning and ending at a Thanksgiving party hosted by Hannah (played by Farrow) and her husband Elliot (played by Caine). Hannah serves as the stalwart hub of the story; her own story as a successful actress is somewhat secondary but most of the events of the film connect to her.

Related Topics:
Arcs - Thanksgiving

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An adulterous romance between Elliot and Hershey's character (Lee) provides the main romantic entanglement of the film. Elliot's discontent with his wife's emotional strength and self-sufficiency causes him to look elsewhere. Lee, one of Hannah's sisters, has lived for several years with von Sydow's character (a reclusive artist, Frederick). She finds herself in a relationship that is neither romantic nor intellectually stimulating, the latter in spite of Frederick's professed interest in continuing to teach her about life. She leaves Frederick, much to his sorrow (for he has grown dependent upon her), and has an affair with Elliot lasting for several months.

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Mickey (played by Allen in the neurotic role easily recognized by his fans) provides the comic relief. Part of his story are scenes from his previous marriage to Hannah and his horrible date with the cocaine-addicted Holly (Hannah's other sister, played by Wiest), shown in flashbacks. Mickey's main story is one of hypochondria confronted with a possible serious disease. It turns into a career-pausing existential crisis, which leads to unsatisfying experiments with religious conversion, before a long walk and the fortuitous viewing of Duck Soup helps him understand why life is worth living. The revelation helps prepare him for a second date with Holly, which this time blossoms quickly (and mostly off-screen) into a relationship and marriage.

Related Topics:
Flashback - Hypochondria - Existential crisis - Religious conversion - Duck Soup

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Holly's story is the film's third main arc. She's an unsuccessful actress, who dabbles in a catering business, competing with April (her business partner and fellow actress, played by Fisher) for acting parts and a man. Holly loses both, and decides to try her hand at writing. The career change forces her to once again borrow money from Hannah, a dependency that Hannah welcomes and Holly resents. After writing a script inspired by Hannah and Elliot (a story that Holly sets aside after Hannah objects to just how much of the couple's private life Holly had incorporated in it), she writes a story inspired by April, which Mickey reads and admires greatly, vowing to help her get it produced.

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A minor arc in the film tells part of the story of Norma and Evan (played by O'Sullivan and Nolan, who were both in Never Too Late twenty years earlier). They are Hannah's parents who still have acting careers of their own, careers disrupted at times by Norma's alcoholism. Evan's piano playing provides part of the entertainment during the Thanksgiving get-togethers.

Related Topics:
Never Too Late - Alcoholism

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By the time of the film's second Thanksgiving Lee has ended her affair with Elliot. In a final coda-like act, another year has lapsed, and the film ends happily for the three sisters, now all married.

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