Review of Annie Hall (1977) by Ricardo O — 29 Mar 2011

There aren't many films that are better than Annie Hall and very few filmmakers are comparable to the brilliance that was Woody Allen in the '70s and '80s. Prior to this film, Allen had made zany comedies that were more reliant on slapstick and visual gags as well as his famous one-liners with movies like Sleeper and Bananas. But with his previous film Love & Death, he was starting to come up with a more serious type of filmmaking, eventually wanting to make something that was more focused on narrative and not as episodic as his earlier comedies. It was Annie Hall where he finally came into his own as a comic filmmaker rather than a comedic actor and stand up comedian that would also make movies here and there.

Annie Hall stars Woody Allen as his typical neurotic self, Alvy Singer, a Jewish comedy writer who looks back at his past especially of his past failed relationship with a Midwestern WASP singer named Annie Hall (Diane Keaton). Being a twice divorcee, Alvy knows a thing or two about the struggles of finding love in the city full of pretentious intellectuals and obsessed writers. Annie Hall seems to be a totally different person than he had ever encountered before. The relationship may not have ended up working out but we follow Alvy along in this relationship with Annie Hall as they weigh in on topics of death, movies, anti-Semitism, dating rituals, Alvy's endless therapy sessions, drugs, and the differences between Annie's Midwestern WASP upbringing and Alvy's crazy Brooklyn Jewish clamorousness. The two of them eventually realize that their relationship is no longer progressing when they go to Los Angeles where Annie wants to be at so she can find fame and success as a singer.

For Annie Hall, Woody Allen took the slapstick and fantasy elements of his previous films and blended them with the autobiographical elements of his stand-up acts as well as his written comedy using techniques such as the characters talking directly into the camera, split-screens, a scene with animation, and subtitles explaining what he and Annie are really thinking when they're saying something else. Woody Allen skewers himself, types of thinking that intellectuals of the '70s had, as well as turning the conventions of the romantic comedy on itself as it's obvious that this relationship between an odd couple does not end happily unlike the typical screwball comedy. It's a film that has become synonymous to the romantic comedy genre that brought Allen to the forefront of contemporary filmmakers. Annie Hall is a film that immediately made an impact and appealed to audiences everywhere. It was hailed as Woody Allen's most mature (this being the first film he really started to focus on the technical aspects of filmmaking such as cinematography bringing in legendary cinematographer Gordon Willis) and most personal film and became a hit beating out Star Wars for Best Picture of 1977 as well as winning Oscars for Allen as director and writer and for Diane Keaton's wonderful performance as eponymous character for Best Actress. More evidence of how much audiences loved the film is the fact that it turned Keaton's menswear into a fashion trend for a while. It's a film that just about everybody who has seen it will admit to loving it or at least really enjoying it. Its appeal continues to grow each year continuing to be ranked among many of the greatest films ever made. This is essential viewing for all movie fans. 10/10.