Great Character: Holly (“Hannah and Her Sisters”)
In November, guest columnist Jason Cuthbert looks at five significant female characters in Woody Allen movies. Today: Holly from the 1986 movie Hannah and Her Sister, written and directed by Woody Allen.
When it comes to the repertory troupe of actresses that Woody Allen has repeatedly directed and written deeply developed characters for, the names Diane Keaton, Mia Farrow, and more recently, Scarlett Johansson may quickly come to mind. But make no mistake, the distinguished female population in Woody’s City of Comedy and Drama has had another prominent mayor presiding over it…Dianne Wiest with a total of five Woody Allen appearances: The Purple Rose of Cairo, Hannah and Her Sisters, Radio Days, September and Bullets Over Broadway.
Dianne Wiest’s feature film career began in 1980 in It’s My Turn with Michael Douglas and Charles Grodin. Several additional minor roles arose for Wiest opposite the likes of acting mavens such as Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep in Fall in Love, Kevin Bacon in Footloose and Mia Farrow and Jeff Daniels in Woody Allen’s The Purple Rose of Cairo. But it was Dianne Wiest’s second Woody appearance in 1986 as the unfulfilled and frustrated sibling Holly in Hannah and Her Sisters that jolted Dianne Wiest’s profile into that of a recognizable cinematic fixture with hits like: The Lost Boys, Parenthood and Edward Scissorhands.
The Woody and Wiest chemistry is also significant due to the fact that it spawned both of her Best Actress in a Supporting Role Academy Award wins, for Holly in Hannah and Her Sisters and Helen Sinclair in Bullets Over Broadway. In fact, Dianne Wiest has won more Oscar trophies for Woody Allen performances than any of his other actresses, or actors for that matter.
Hannah and Her Sisters from IMDB:
Between two Thanksgivings, Hannah’s husband falls in love with her sister Lee, while her hypochondriac ex-husband rekindles his relationship with her sister Holly.
During the first of two Thanksgiving celebrations that make up the life span of the movie, Holly and Hannah’s social dynamic is immediately established — Hannah the helpful heroine and Holly the damsel in distress. Hannah is introduced in her hospitable glory, hosting a Thanksgiving holiday feast at her home, with a recent acting accomplishment under her “super woman” belt. Then the Thanksgiving backdrop becomes a metaphor for Holly and Hannah, Holly comes to Hannah for another round of emergency “giving” and Hannah appears thankful for being able to save Holly again.
HOLLY: I mean, obviously, I’m not going to be a caterer forever, you know. We both still go to auditions. Something could turn up at any moment. But the parties are at night, days are free, I can still take my acting class. I haven’t done drugs on a year.
Holly has to endear the pity party that often comes from being the only single grown sibling during a family gathering. Holly’s sister Lee has her eccentric older live-in boyfriend Frederick (Max van Sydow) and Hannah has her husband Elliot (Michael Caine), who secretly is sexually involved with Lee behind everyone’s back. Holly’s solo bachelorette status and career-in-transition standing creates uncomfortable questions of concern that a single thirty-something has to survive through. Once again it is the got-it-all-together Hannah that attempts to rescue Holly from her lack-luster love life with a potential hook-up for Holly to pursue.
HOLLY: Oh, perfect! He reminds me of Ichabod Crane. (moving her hand up and down her throat) His Adam’s apple keeps jumping up and down whenever he gets excited.
When Holly takes action to overcome her own empty bed syndrome it puts her in direct competition with her new catering partner and actress-on-the-rise April (Carrier Fisher). An architect named David (Sam Waterson) takes a liking to their culinary panache at a party, and ends up taking them both on a pseudo date to sightsee the finer building designs in New York City. Holly is given an internal monologue that drills into her dilapidated self-esteem. Even April, an associate that is on equal footing with Holly career-wise, seems capable of capturing David’s affection with an intangible superiority that Holly feels belittled by.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7GUF0QCuuU
The tragic nature of Holly’s quest for success is that she is all too willing to thrust herself into multiple career path’s that are not totally within her control to succeed in, or even within her proven skill set in many cases. Her non-committal track record with men and jobs as well as a past cocaine addiction bolster the skepticism that seems to hover over Holly’s journey through life. From catering to acting, to a singing audition for a musical that Holly hopes to fake her way through, Holly’s new beginnings illuminate her desire to feel fulfilled, to be understood and to belong somewhere with somewhere.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHxeOvCwh6E
Oddly enough, it is the honorable Hannah’s ex-husband Mickey (Woody Allen) who ends up finding out just how much opposites can attract with a rebound effort to rekindle a past failed attempt to be with Holly. A flashback date with Holly dragging the hypochondriac Mickey to a punk rock show clashes with his quiet wine-sipping jazz sensibilities.
MICKEY: I can’t understand you. Your sisters, both sisters have such good taste in music. I don’t know where you went, went wrong.
Holly’s retort to Mickey sounds like her personal mission statement.
HOLLY: (gesturing) Do you mind? I’m-I’m my own person.
It takes Holly’s most recent career transformation, as a storywriter to find her career calling. It has a rocky start when she attempts to tell Hannah’s personal life, which speaks to Holly’s deep-rooted respect and jealousy of Hannah’s social/financial/emotional steadiness.
But when Hannah rejects Holly’s fictional homage, instead of picking another new and unqualified get-rich-quick gig, Holly finds the self-confidence within her muddled insecurities to stay the course and construct a brand new story that makes Mickey see her in a much brighter and favorable light. Holly finally has a much better Thanksgiving when she has Mickey by her side as her significant other, a stabilizing co-pilot to feel needed and respected by.
For her inner and outer competitive struggles, her consistent confrontation with her fears of failure and her desire to be “Holly” and not just “Hannah’s Sister,” — Holly is a fascinatingly GREAT CHARACTER.
Great movie choice for the Thanksgiving weekend. After Annie Hall, perhaps my second favorite Woody Allen and Holly’s character is one reason why.
What did you think about the movie? See you in comments to carry on the conversation.
Thanks once again to Jason! You may follow him on Twitter: @A2Jason.
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