Reviews of Annie Hall

Annie Hall

Posted : 1 year, 5 months ago on 30 June 2008 04:21 (A review of Annie Hall)

This is my kind of romantic comedy. Back in the days when smart people could be smart in films, complete with bags upon bags of neurosis and all. There probably is no better metaphor for a Woody Allen romance than one person being more New York and the other being more Los Angeles. One has a history of cosmopolitan rudeness and the other is known for being sunny and full of phonies who think they’re deep. Annie is too deep for the Hollywood literati, but she’s also not rude and paranoid enough for the Manhattan streets. She needs the sunshine and the health food restaurants, plus the therapy sessions, to properly break through her “issues.” Alvy Singer, conversely, is a New Yawker through and through. As Annie tells him, he’s a “real Jew.” Or, well, the Manhattan stereotyped brand. But Allen is too smart to leave either character as a stereotype, and while they start out as types, by the end of the film they’ve become fully realized human beings.

Diane Keaton deservedly won an Oscar for the titular role. How many real-life women do you know like Annie? Several most likely. And that’s what is so great about her. She feels like a real person that you could meet. She’s flighty yet neurotic, artistic but lacking in serious ambition, needy yet strangely independent. She might be the greatest of all of Allen’s women’s roles. And he’s written some great ones.

And, yes, the comedy still holds up. The flashback to his elementary school class? Hilarious. The close-up of the girl who says she’s really into leather? It sends me into hysterics every time. My favorite might be the animated Evil Queen sequence where Alvy explains that as a child he always loved the Queen more than Snow White. The best part is hearing Keaton’s voice squeal out “I don’t have a period! I’m a cartoon character!” Ah, classic Woody. Still fresh and one of the funniest movies ever, and, yes, it did deserve to win the Best Picture Oscar over Star Wars.

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Woody Allen's best film!

Posted : 1 year, 7 months ago on 18 May 2008 03:17 (A review of Annie Hall)

"Another important joke, for me, is one that's usually attributed to Groucho Marx; but, I think it appears originally in Freud's "Wit and Its Relation to the Unconscious," and it goes like this - I'm paraphrasing - um, "I would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member." That's the key joke of my adult life, in terms of my relationships with women."

The world is ostensibly divided into two categories - those who adore Woody Allen films and those who abhor the works of Woody Allen. As I have viewed very few of Woody's movies I cannot be consigned into any of these categories. Nevertheless your enjoyment of each Woody Allen film is determined by your perspective on the guy's approach to filmmaking.

Annie Hall was recognised by the Academy Awards when it copped four Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Director. Extensively regarded as his greatest motion picture, Woody Allen's Annie Hall is partially an autobiographical anecdote abundant in adult themes and perceptions on the topic of relationships. These themes are ornately delved into during the film's moderately diminutive running time. We see the ups and downs of relationships, as well as the break-ups succeeded by being reunited.

The foundation of the film is of Woody Allen's real life relationship with Diane Keaton. Woody Allen portrays a Jewish comedian named Alvy Singer, with Diane Keaton playing a nightclub singer named Annie Hall. The film broadly traces the relationship between the two of them over an extensive period of time. As the customary relationship dilemmas begin to foster, they progressively pull away from each other and realise that it will never work between them. The opening monologue from Woody Allen brings the viewer up to date with the state of affairs: that he and Annie have broken up and he's distraught about it.

The purpose of the flashbacks is to explore the reason behind their eventual break up. What went wrong? When did it happen? How could it have been avoided? This film is poignant and brilliant because the audience can develop their own perspective on where he actually did go wrong. As the protagonist's interactions seem to be normal, it's hard to realise the point when the two realise that it could never work. They fight and have their evident divergences; hence incredibly true to life as we also explore other themes of a relationship. This mainly includes jealousy and infidelity. It even investigates the awkwardness of being with another partner. These underlying themes and messages are fascinating. Personally I thought that it made for great entertainment.

Annie Hall is marketed not only as a romance but also as a comedy. There are several good laughs in the film that are just funny because they are true (like a girl calling someone over at 3am just to kill a spider that is causing them to lose sleep). In other instances it's Woody Allen's impeccably delivered monologues as a stand up comedian, or even just flashbacks when we can just laugh at the pathetic nature of an individual (like an actor inserting laughter into a sitcom to make it seem funny).

Annie Hall also boasts an enormous array of fantastic performances. Woody Allen is very cute in the title role (that is essentially himself); however in each film he always seems largely the same. There are several notable instances when Woody talks to the audience about a certain situation. Diana Keaton has an astronomically appealing screen persona. While she plays opposite an anxious, stuttering Woody Allen it's usually hilariously funny. This film also features a number of interesting cameos from actors who went on to become very famous. When this film was made they were not big names in Hollywood. Examples include a 30-second scene with Christopher Walken and a brief shot featuring Jeff Goldblum. In a historical sense this is very fascinating. Their scenes are also quite memorable. It's almost as if Woody knew that they would become big stars later in their lives.

Annie Hall is a clever, charming romantic comedy that is thoughtful and original. Its style in particular is very impressive despite a number of dated filmmaking techniques. Okay, so the film explores themes that are palpable in everyday society. I just find it interesting in a poignant "funny because it's true" sense. Highly recommended.

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