Best-known for his period piece adaptations of heralded literature, director Joe Wright takes on new terrain with his spy-centered thrill ride, Hanna, a twisted rites of passage tale that externalizes the perils of growing up through a bloody and threatening world of bawdy boogie-men who whistle while they do their dark work.

The original screenplay by Seth Lochhead and David Farr couches a coming-of-age story in the midst of an espionage thriller littered with fairy tales turned feral. It’s a world of ever-lurking danger that Hanna must traverse to reach womanhood. Saoirse Ronan, who earned an Oscar nod for her previous Wright-directed effort, Atonement, stars as a fierce 16-year-old raised in isolation by her father (a strikingly intimidating Eric Bana) with the overriding edict, “Adapt or die.” Hanna is quickly established as not only a methodical and merciless killer, but also a child eager to explore the world beyond her winter-coated forest. One fateful day, her father presents a metal box with an ominous red button, and dares her to hit it to begin the mission she’s trained for since infancy. He quickly flees, promising a reunion once she’s come out the other end. Like Red Riding Hood she sets out from the comforts of the life she knew and encounters her own Big Bad Wolf in the form of a skeevy bounty hunter played by Tom Hollander (Mr. Collins of Wright’s Pride & Prejudice). In short order, Hanna has infiltrated an underground intelligence agency, and sets to work achieving her prime directive: kill Marissa Wiegler, a high-level operative played with cutting intensity by Cate Blanchett. From here the action kicks into high-gear aided by the bass-thumping score by The Chemical Brothers.

It’s worth noting that Wright is a filmmaker heralded for his talents in wringing the best from his actors as well as his jaw-dropping cinematography. Hanna lives up to the high expectations Wright’s previous works set forth, peopled as it is with a bevy of gripping performances and containing a complicated and confounding one-shot fight sequence that will drive movie fans into frenzy for years to come. As to the performances, Ronan has a whole movie to shoulder and does so with a stoic bravado, deftly balancing touching emotional moments, like an attempt to make a friend with a normal — and thereby vapid and chatty — teen (played with endless vivacity by Jessica Barden), with fight scenes in which she is an undeniably convincing combatant. It’s not an easy task, but Ronan excels with aplomb. Bana and Blanchett are expectedly compelling in their tug-o-war struggles over control of Hanna, but the real scene-stealer here is Hollander, whose haunting whistle and menacing sneer bring a real depth to the danger facing the film’s young heroine. As Hanna traverses the world, running from Finland to Morocco to Germany, she comes across a British family on vacation. Here is where much of the coming-of-age elements come into play, but also this is where oft undervalued supporting players Olivia Williams (Rushmore) and Jason Flemyng (Snatch) get to shine. The pair portray progressive parents who accept the idea of a 16-year-old traveling the world alone with a modern reluctance to judge, and happily allow Hanna into their mobile home and lives. Of course things grow wretched for this family when the witchy Weigler and her blood-thirsty minions discover them. Like any fairy tale worth its salt, Hanna takes some troubling turns, revealing a gruesomeness I was surprised (though oddly delighted) to see in a PG-13 film. (Hunger Games fans take note!) The violence is hard-hitting, never pulling its punches but also avoids feeling hokey or overblown. Coming from a director known for his understated romantic dramas, Hanna’s biggest shocker may be that the action scenes are unrelenting full-throttled affairs filled with danger and palpable blows. Impressively, Wright boldly blends the thrill of espionage with the rite of passage genre and a sprinkling nefarious fairy tales. However, it is at times a clunky mix.

Hanna is full of inventive and chilling action sequences, heartstring-tugging performances, and vivid Grimm iconography. Sometimes all this is too much for the narrative to handle, leading to an uneven tone that gives the film a stuttering flow. Despite this pacing issue, Hanna is ultimately exhilarating. Beyond creating a bit of action-fodder, Wright has crafted a thriller with a brain. Action fans will relish in the expertly executed fight scenes, while film nerds and women’s studies majors will dive in again and again to parse through the film’s lush imagery for meaning. Smart, pulse-pounding with an undeniable emotional core, Hanna is a full-fledged thriller with brains, heart, and balls.

Hanna hits theaters April 8.

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