Hannah and Her Sisters
Hannah, Holly, and Lee are adult sisters from a show business family, their boozy actress mother who still believes she's an ingénue that can attract any man she wants, despite still being married to the girls' father, Evan. Hannah, on her second marriage to a man named Elliot, a financial advisor, is the success of the family, taking a break from her acting career to raise her children. Everyone turns to her for advice, while she never talks to others about what she needs or feels. Her first husband, Mickey, is a comedy show writer and hypochondriac, who is going through a crisis as he mistakenly believes he will die soon without a clear belief, as a non-practicing Jew, of what will happen to him in the afterlife. Single Holly is the insecure flaky sister, a struggling and thus continually unemployed actress, who has just started a catering business with her actress friend April, in order to do something constructive with her life. In her own security, Hannah even set up Holly and Mickey together following her own break-up with Mickey, Holly and Mickey's sole date which arguably was the worst night in both their lives. Holly turns to Hannah for everything in her life, including money, despite feeling Hannah overly judgmental about her failures. It's during a catering job that Holly and April meet David, an architect, who seems interested in both of them. Holly's insecurities may threaten her potential relationship with David and friendship with April. Lee, who collects unemployment, is metaphorically the family's piece of clay waiting for the right artist to mold her. She has long lived with artist Frederick, who has contempt for everyone except her, and as such relies on her for whatever his connection to the outside world. This already complex collective becomes even more complex when Elliot contemplates telling Lee that he has fallen in love with her. His attraction to her is as much feeling unneeded by Hannah, who he does not want to hurt regardless of what he decides to do with respect to Lee.
Despite its limited budget of $6.4M, Hannah and Her Sisters became a box office phenomenon, earning $40.1M worldwide—a remarkable 526% return. The film's innovative storytelling found its audience, demonstrating that strong storytelling can transcend budget limitations.
3 Oscars. 27 wins & 28 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) exhibits carefully calibrated dramatic framework, characteristic of Woody Allen's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 47 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.6, the film showcases strong structural fundamentals.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Hannah
Mickey
Holly
Lee
Elliot
Frederick
Norma
Evan
Main Cast & Characters
Hannah
Played by Mia Farrow
The stable, successful middle sister who serves as the family's emotional anchor. An actress and mother who appears to have it all together but struggles with being taken for granted.
Mickey
Played by Woody Allen
Hannah's hypochondriac ex-husband, a TV producer obsessed with death and searching for meaning in life through various philosophical and religious explorations.
Holly
Played by Dianne Wiest
Hannah's insecure younger sister, a struggling actress and recovering cocaine addict searching for direction in life and perpetually comparing herself to Hannah.
Lee
Played by Barbara Hershey
The third sister, artistic and restless, trapped in a relationship with a controlling older artist while falling for Hannah's husband Elliot.
Elliot
Played by Michael Caine
Hannah's husband, a financial advisor who becomes obsessed with his wife's sister Lee, leading him into an emotional affair and moral crisis.
Frederick
Played by Max von Sydow
Lee's much older live-in boyfriend, a bitter misanthropic artist who isolates Lee from the world and dismisses modern culture with contempt.
Norma
Played by Maureen O'Sullivan
The sisters' mother, a former actress and dramatic narcissist who craves attention and remains self-absorbed despite her daughters' needs.
Evan
Played by Lloyd Nolan
The sisters' father, a former theater producer who enabled Norma's narcissism and has affairs with younger women.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes First Thanksgiving gathering. Elliot's voiceover reveals he's obsessed with his wife's sister Lee while surrounded by his seemingly perfect extended family. Establishes the interwoven relationships and hidden desires beneath surface harmony.. Structural examination shows that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when Elliot declares his feelings to Lee in a bookstore, kissing her and disrupting both their lives. Lee is shocked and resistant but intrigued. This forbidden attraction catalyzes the central relationship crisis of the film.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 26 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This shows the protagonist's commitment to Lee actively chooses to begin the affair with Elliot, meeting him at his office. She crosses the line from resistance to participation, entering the world of betrayal and secret romance. An active, irreversible choice despite knowing it will hurt her sister., moving from reaction to action.
At 52 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 49% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat Lee decides to leave Frederick and end her dependency on him, moving out to start an independent life. False victory - she believes this frees her for Elliot, but it actually begins her journey toward self-discovery rather than another dependent relationship. Stakes raised., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 78 minutes (73% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Lee definitively ends the affair with Elliot, telling him she's met someone else (Doug) and needs to move on. Elliot is devastated. Simultaneously, Mickey contemplates suicide after his spiritual search fails, standing before a mirror in despair. Whiff of death - literal (suicide consideration) and metaphorical (death of the affair, death of faith)., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 86 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 81% of the runtime. Holly gives her script to Hannah to read. Hannah loves it and supports her sister's new direction as a writer. This synthesis moment combines Holly's creative talents with newfound discipline and family support. The realization that purpose comes from authentic work, not borrowed money or desperate schemes., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Hannah and Her Sisters's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping Hannah and Her Sisters against these established plot points, we can identify how Woody Allen utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Hannah and Her Sisters within the comedy genre.
Woody Allen's Structural Approach
Among the 42 Woody Allen films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.0, demonstrating varied approaches to story architecture. Hannah and Her Sisters represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Woody Allen filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional comedy films include The Bad Guys, Ella Enchanted and The Evening Star. For more Woody Allen analyses, see Everyone Says I Love You, Celebrity and Interiors.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
First Thanksgiving gathering. Elliot's voiceover reveals he's obsessed with his wife's sister Lee while surrounded by his seemingly perfect extended family. Establishes the interwoven relationships and hidden desires beneath surface harmony.
Theme
Hannah's ex-husband Mickey (hypochondriac) obsesses over health tests. A character mentions "You have to have a little faith in people." Theme of faith, trust, and the search for meaning in relationships and life stated early.
Worldbuilding
Introduction to the three sisters and their orbit: Hannah (stable, maternal, successful actress), Lee (living with older artist Frederick), Holly (struggling actress and cocaine user). Mickey's hypochondria and fertility subplot. Elliot's growing obsession with Lee established through voiceover and stolen glances.
Disruption
Elliot declares his feelings to Lee in a bookstore, kissing her and disrupting both their lives. Lee is shocked and resistant but intrigued. This forbidden attraction catalyzes the central relationship crisis of the film.
Resistance
Lee debates the affair while continuing her stifling relationship with Frederick. Elliot pursues her with increasing desperation. Holly struggles with her career and borrows money from Hannah. Mickey gets a brain tumor scare. Multiple characters wrestle with their life choices.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Lee actively chooses to begin the affair with Elliot, meeting him at his office. She crosses the line from resistance to participation, entering the world of betrayal and secret romance. An active, irreversible choice despite knowing it will hurt her sister.
Mirror World
Holly begins collaborating with April (fellow struggling actress and friend) on a catering business. This friendship/business partnership becomes a thematic mirror exploring loyalty, competition, and self-worth - paralleling the sister dynamics.
Premise
The affair between Lee and Elliot intensifies while Hannah remains oblivious. Mickey's health crisis resolves but triggers existential crisis about mortality and meaning. Holly and April's catering venture and friendship deteriorates into rivalry over a man (David). The promise of exploring infidelity, identity crisis, and sibling rivalry.
Midpoint
Lee decides to leave Frederick and end her dependency on him, moving out to start an independent life. False victory - she believes this frees her for Elliot, but it actually begins her journey toward self-discovery rather than another dependent relationship. Stakes raised.
Opposition
Lee starts grad school and begins pulling away from Elliot emotionally. Elliot becomes more desperate and possessive. Holly's life unravels - catering fails, friendship with April destroyed, acting career stalled. Mickey explores religion desperately seeking meaning, failing at Catholicism and Hare Krishna. Everyone's flaws intensify their problems.
Collapse
Lee definitively ends the affair with Elliot, telling him she's met someone else (Doug) and needs to move on. Elliot is devastated. Simultaneously, Mickey contemplates suicide after his spiritual search fails, standing before a mirror in despair. Whiff of death - literal (suicide consideration) and metaphorical (death of the affair, death of faith).
Crisis
Elliot processes his loss and shame. Mickey wanders into a movie theater playing Marx Brothers, finding unexpected joy and a reason to live through art and laughter. Holly reaches her lowest point financially and emotionally, facing the gap between her dreams and reality.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Holly gives her script to Hannah to read. Hannah loves it and supports her sister's new direction as a writer. This synthesis moment combines Holly's creative talents with newfound discipline and family support. The realization that purpose comes from authentic work, not borrowed money or desperate schemes.
Synthesis
Final Thanksgiving, one year later. Lee marries Doug (her college professor). Elliot has recommitted to Hannah with renewed appreciation. Mickey reconnects with Holly, and they begin dating. All characters have found new equilibrium through acceptance and growth rather than fantasy.
Transformation
Final image mirrors opening Thanksgiving but shows transformation: Mickey (former hypochondriac) reveals Holly is pregnant, embracing uncertainty and faith in the future. Holly has found purpose and love. Hannah remains the stable center but is now truly appreciated. The family gathering now represents genuine connection rather than hidden desperation.