Review of Annie Hall (1977) by Michael Y — 11 Sep 2011

Just when you think you know every room in the suite of comedy, you watch a movie like Annie Hall and an entirely knew room opens up with a dozen more doors.

Annie Hall is the driving force behind Woody Allen's amazing career. And it has every right to. The premise: Alvy Singer, a nervous and whiny Jewish comedian, moves to LA which he's not particularly happy about, but through his friend he meets Annie Hall. Annie is a spontanious girl, completely the opposite of Alvy, but the two fall in love. Annie Hall is the story of how they fall out of love. The premise doesn't sound all that funny, and it sounds a little on the "It has all been done" side. But the fact is Annie Hall is one of cinema's brilliant and most original comedies ever crafted. I can only imagine how messed up the screenplay looks because this movie does what very few movies do. Alvy would break the 4th wall and talk to the audience, then continue that conversation with someone on the street as if it is normal and they knew what he was talking about. He would enter into his memories and observe and narrorate his childhood infront of us. Conversations will continue in different scenes without loosing a beat. Annie Hall isn't a realistic comedy. It constantly breaks away from reality into fantasy, and does this in a non linear narrative. But above all, this movie is laugh out loud hilarious. I don't particularly like Woddy Allen as an actor, nor is his character in Annie Hall likeable in the slightest, but I have to admit he was perfect in this movie. Allen's natural nervousness and whining makes the dialogue so quick that sometimes the jokes don't come to you until later. The delivery of his comedy is quick and will catch you off guard, but they are funny. And Diane Keaton, who I don't particularly like as well, is fantastic in her role, and won an Oscar for it.

Woody Allen's directing also won the Oscar in 1978. His screenplay may be a mess of dialogue, scene changes and the break between fantasy and reality, but it is all directed PERFECTLY. With all the jokes out there, Allen's artistic presentation doesn't miss a beat on it. The dialogue might be fast, but it is not missed. And like everything I described about the unique narrative, it is all presented in an original and fantastic manner that no other director would have been able to make as smoothly or effectivly. The pacing of the directing is pitch perfect, and the editing of the scenes is just as perfect. The different shooting locations are great. The look natural, even in this bizarre comedy, and there are plenty of sets that have great amounts of detail. Another important thing to point out are the costumes. The costumes say a lot about the characters, especially Annie Hall who's free spirit expresses herself through her cloths. She rarely dresses like a woman would, and becomes even darker and more clothed when she's depressed, to hide herself from the sexual appetite of Alvy, who dresses like a complete steriotype btw, which is ironic since his greatest concern is how badly treated and presented Jews are in society.

In all honest, Woody Allen's movies go down hill from here. Annie Hall is a masterpiece which no one can duplicate, except for Allen himself who would use the same tactics that made Annie Hall so original and make them not so original. But remember, Annie Hall is his finest film, a Best Picture winner, and you'll have a fun time watching it.