_"I just missed your heart."_

A few months after the show premiered, I watched it: I found it to be somewhat disappointing. More importantly, I believed the film would be way better. Now, I've watched it, and I think I prefer the show, even though it was still underwhelming and tedious too often. Past me would be astounded.

But David Farr, creator of the show, took a film with hardly any substance and too little/unsatisfying explanation/resolution. Because of that, the show was more expansive, which I didn't know until now. David also "provided changes" to this film's script/co-wrote it, giving me the impression that he was unsatisfied with the film and felt he could do better with it (in the format of a TV show), hence the creation of the show in 2017, filming in 2018, and release in 2019.

I'm inclined to agree with that close-to-baseless and likely inaccurate assumption. This film's premise worked much better in a TV show format. Everything can be more maneuverable and developed instead of clustered into a nearly two-hour film, which is too little, also pointless (regardless of a longer runtime) for such a premise: one that needs a TV show format.

Moreover, Marissa Wiegler was a much more compelling character in the show, and part of me feels like Mireille Enos gave a better performance: did the character "justice." The route her character went was not only more fleshed out (as expected, given the TV show aspect), but it was also well-done and more enticing than what the film/a film's runtime could offer. In this case, due to poor writing/utilization. And the conclusion of her character in the show was quite good, quite impactful.

I also feel the same way about Erik Heller. Dare I say, Joel Kinnaman "brought more to the character" than Eric Bana did. I know that may be a divisive opinion, as I think I've seen a lot of praise regarding Eric, acting-wise. But it's the same with Joel, I suppose. Either way, Joel's Erik Heller was more "alive."

Still, the show had issues: the lack of excitement that such a premise should have, an overwhelming sense of filler (at least in the first season), and downright dull and underwhelming content, for the most part, making it difficult to care and get invested. But this film felt incomplete: a draft work that nobody bothered to rework in a more informative manner. Maybe that feeling was because I'd seen the entire show (all three seasons) before this film, although if objective, that feeling of being incomplete would've still been there even if I hadn't seen the show yet and didn't notice it.

What's more (and this isn't that big of a deal), there was no conclusion regarding the family. Perhaps the scene for that existed but got cut for some reason. Otherwise, the only remaining explanation is that it was expected of us to fill in the gaps; come to our individualistic conclusion. If the answer is the latter, that's poor decision-making or failure at a good execution by the writer.

Despite all that, there were positives.

First, there was the cinematography by Alwin H. Küchler. That was, without a doubt, one of the film's strong suits. There were specific stand-out shots that I thought were great. In general, the cinematography looked crisp.
Second, some of the camera work was innovative; props to Joe Wright, the director.
Third, there was the score by The Chemical Brothers. It stood out a lot to me because I haven't heard a score like it yet. I thought it was great.
Fourth, the performances. All three leading performers delivered good performances. As far as I could tell, Cate Blanchett's performance was the most nuanced. So, naturally, I think she gave the best one out of everyone. Saoirse gave the second-best performance, and I don't have much to say about Eric Bana except that he was decent. But I prefer Esmé Creed-Miles (Hanna) a little bit more. Same with Mireille Enos (Marissa Wiegler). And the performance by Joel Kinnaman (Erik) was way better.

Not only that, another positive thing was the enveloping atmospheric tones of bliss and tranquility in two scenes: the scene when she was on the motorcycle with that guy and the scene when Hanna was looking out the rear-view mirror; the score was important with both. Those two scenes invoked a feeling. That kind of thing happened a few times in the show, too. Both it and this film had the help of music. But actual songs (not cues from a score) were a helping hand in the former most of the time, and not just regarding those tones; the song choices also enhanced some scenes.

This film had some positive components, as I've brought up, which are always appreciated. Unfortunately, it seemed half-baked. I can understand people having liked it more than I did/have, except a lot seem to have gone a step further. Like it's worthy of the highest praise. I don't get it. Maybe, back in 2011, when it was released, it was easier to love. I think someone not liking it as much is more likely if their first viewing was in the last few years or this year. In my case, I feel like having already seen all of the show played a factor. I may have gotten a different overall impression of this film had I seen it first.