Review of Annie Hall (1977) by Amheretojudge — 25 Aug 2019

Allen and Keaton are easy on the eyes, I can say that from looking at their body language for verbally they are just bickering.

Annie Hall Allen has written a "how to" book. And coming from a guy who never liked or fell for such "how to"Allen and Keaton are easy on the eyes, I can say that from looking at their body language for verbally they are just bickering.

Annie Hall.

Allen has written a "how to" book. And coming from a guy who never liked or fell for such "how to" genre, it is incredibly beautiful to see someone break down a genre and place it in front of you with expressive wonder that they feel and are also able to communicate so effortlessly and effervescently. There are so many things and themes to learn and inspire from that the writer and director, Woody Allen has to inhale deep long breathes separately along with us, for in order for him to exert an enormous amount of energy in one monologue, in one scene and us, simply to consume it all.

And I love this film for it speaks through a language that I find myself familiar with. And over the years, I always thought that the crux in Allen's art is how to place jokes in a narrative sensibly and smoothly. But now that I saw it today, I feel like it is the other way around. And yes, you can clearly see that in both, his epilogue and prologue speeches, where he derives the meaning of life from pretty standard jokes. But it is not just that.

The film often jumps back and forth in timeline for the sake of the joke. And usually in a film so big, with bigger ambitions, bigger themes, the film couldn't just point out to that funky looking graffiti in a royale-ish art museum as such. But this is Allen's genius. He has left out the trails for you to search for the jokes and the context it scoops up from those punchlines, it is a charmingly flirty stand up act. Annie Hall is a "how to" film, how to break the fourth wall, how to picturize flashbacks, how to mock your own absurd values, how to tell a joke and how to romanticize a love story.