Review of Annie Hall (1977) by Jill M — 10 Aug 2013

The term "American classic" is thrown around far too freely these days, but this is a film that definitely deserves that title. Annie Hall is Woody Allen's definitive masterpiece, and is definitely the film you think of when you think 'Woody Allen.' Is it overrated? Maybe a little. Several of Allen's other films deserve equal recognition for their humor and sharp dialogue. But Annie Hall distances itself from those earlier Allen films by never delving into the slapstick humor that plagued Bananas and Sleeper, and maintaining a consistently lightweight and matter-of-fact tone throughout.

Annie Hall is about a comedian (Woody Allen, playing himself) who falls in love with the title character. The story is told via his narration after the pair have broken up. Nowadays, films try to emulate this effect to the death, so it's far less potent now-- but in 1977, when the film came out, it was revolutionary. It's a hilarious, blunt take on the life of a neurotic New Yorker looking for love. And although it didn't really demand much from Allen in terms of acting (like I said, he just had to be himself), he definitely shows his mastery of the genre behind the camera. His style is at its peak here, not rough and unrefined like his early films, but also not as flimsy and bland as his late-period work. It's a blend of surreal moments, dry humor, and classically unreliable narration.

When I say this film is funny, I mean it's funny. Comedies these days seem focused only on how many penis jokes they can fit into one two-hour period, but Allen is only concerned with making poignant insights on life. Modern filmmakers would do well to learn from this movie, but they haven't-- at least not quite. It's clear that a lot of supposedly wistful and deep modern films are trying to be like this movie, but no other director has managed to quite get a grasp on what makes Annie Hall so good. It's a variable that cannot be accounted for by other directors: Allen himself. He's so confidently uncomfortable in his films that you can't quite tell if he's actually like his screen persona in real life, or if he's just an incredibly skilled actor. Either way, it definitely works.

Diane Keaton is damn good as Annie, and plays an adventurous, happy-go-lucky character with all her might. A lesser actress would have been content to leave the character as just that, but she brings something else to the table, something intangible-- a likability that makes the audience quite torn between the two leads. You want desperately for them to just realize that they are absolutely infatuated with each other, but they're both too stubborn to admit it. This is easily the most interesting dynamic in any romantic comedy, but it's not like it was going up against much.

Snippets of Annie Hall have become so ingrained in popular culture that people have forgotten where they came from. In one scene, Allen is visiting his friend in LA, and watching as he dictates where the laugh track should be inserted into a sitcom. It's a hilarious scene, as it undercuts the shallowness and utter vapidity of Hollywood. Allen then turns around and strikes out at the other end of the spectrum-- He stands in line for a movie and has to listen to a cinema snob obnoxiously spout his opinion right into his ear (this kind of hit me too close to home...). It's Allen's uncanny ability to lampoon all walks of life, from my fellow pretentious film critics to self-absorbed Los Angeles assholes, that makes him such an effective comedian.

Final Score for Annie Hall: 8/10 stars. It's biting, hilarious, clever, witty, sharp, and usually spot-on when it peels back the layers of modern society bullshit. Although it doesn't quite go as deep as I was expecting, it is still a vastly entertaining and genuinely hysterical film that showcases Allen at his top form. A definitive classic if I ever saw one, and a must-see for all true cinephiles.