The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
Hanson’s first big hit was iconic classy schlock: a bad-nanny psycho-horror that played on primal fears, to enormous dividends (it was at No 1 in the US for four weeks, and took almost $100m in the same period). The movie catapulted Hanson’s stock as an in-demand mainstream thriller director with an especially keen eye for female performances.
The River Wild
That keen eye is presumably why Meryl Streep signed on for The River Wild, one of her few action roles, as a whitewater rafter held hostage by Kevin Bacon. The movie is a blast: daft, exciting, an instant hit. The box office wasn’t quite as devastating as for his previous movie, but the film helped cement Hanson’s reputation as a safe pair of hands, for actors and audiences.
LA Confidential
Hanson won an Oscar for his screenplay for this, a neo-noir adapted from the novel by James Ellroy. Hanson bypassed the studio to submit LA Confidential to Cannes. The film, his most acclaimed,elevated him to a different league entirely: a serious genre stylist, capable of tackling grand themes and eliciting tough, complex turns from some of the key actors of the age (in this case, Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce).
Wonder Boys
A quieter endeavour by Hanson, Wonder Boys is one of his subtlest movies – and most beloved by fans. Michael Douglas, in the first of his career-redefining moves, stars as a divorcing college professor fending off his book editor (Robert Downey Jr) and a persistent student (Tobey Maguire). The movie lost $20m, but it was sustainable offset against the cred earned and affection won. It proved Hanson could do intellectual, too.
8 Mile
Many were sceptical about whether Eminem could command the screen convincingly, even in a semi-autobiographical role; Hanson’s slam-dunk rap drama silenced most critics. Set in a brilliantly realised blue-collar Michigan of trailer parks and factories, the film buzzes with energy and scuzzy charm. Hanson also coaxed a career-best performance from Brittany Murphy, and successfully reunited with LA Confidential star Kim Basinger.
In Her Shoes
One of Hanson’s final projects as a solo director was another female-led film. Starring Cameron Diaz, Shirley MacLaine and Toni Collette, the family drama could have been standard chick-lit; instead it was moving and nuanced, fluff with surprising – almost alarming – edge.
