Annie Hall

Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Paul Simon, Shelley Duval, Christopher Walken, Jeff Goldblum (bit part)
Directed by: Woody Allen
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
1977

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A neurotic comedian (Woody Allen) living in New York City falls in love with a ditzy singer (Diane Keaton), and as they progress in their relationship, they begin to grow apart because of their many differences.

Review:

Tim: I am not a huge fan of Woody Allen. I am even less of a fan of Woody Allen when he casts himself in his own movies, always in the lead role. That doesn't bode well for this movie, but then again, Annie Hall is supposedly Allen's masterpiece of a movie. If fact, it won four Academy Awards- Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Original Screenplay. That is pretty impressive. While I have to admit that this is a very good movie, I just don't believe it is the landmark film that many claim it is.

Allen does craft a pretty interesting movie. The film does boast some very good writing, including some of the most famous, funny, and memorable lines Allen's ever written- "I was thrown out of N.Y.U. my freshman year for cheating on my metaphysics final, you know. I looked within the soul of the boy sitting next to me" and "Hey, don't knock masturbation! It's sex with someone I love" among others. Allen definitely deserved the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The film also manages to be quirky and memorable. I love all the various original additions- like the cartoon scene, the subtitles showing what the characters are thinking, Allen addressing the camera directly, etc. These make the movie exciting, unpredictable, and fun.

The biggest problem with this movie is Allen himself. I just don't get his constantly worried, neurotic, hypercritical character. He is so annoying, and the few funny lines coming out of this character do not make up for the annoying chatter coming out of him every other second. I really tried to look past that, but I couldn't like this character, which made it difficult to care about him. I likewise had some issues with Diane Keaton. She certainly gives a very inspired, entertaining performance (which won her the Best Actress Academy Award). The problem is that Keaton's character isn't that great. Her dysfunctional relationship with Allen is certainly interesting, and occasionally entertaining, but not exactly truly powerful.

As I've said, Woody Allen definitely crafts a very strong movie here. He has undeniable skill behind the camera. While I will unflinchingly complain about him casting himself, playing himself, and asking us to love it; I can't offer much resistance to his work in the director's chair. Here, he crafts a small, intimate movie that brings us directly into the lives of the two main characters- almost uncomfortably close. While the actual story is a bit lacking, we are a bit mesmerized as we watch Allen and Keaton engage in random, occasionally ironic musings about some of life's biggest topics. That is certainly a novel, interesting approach to the film. This movie would have been better with a little more focus on a more engaging story, but the dialogue is brilliant and delivered quite well.

I will admit I am a little bit surprised that Annie Hall won the Academy Award for Best Picture. I definitely agree with its other three, including Allen winning for Best Director. However, I am not entirely sure this movie deserves that title of Best Picture. It is certainly a very good movie, but I had a hard time seeing its greatness. I know I'm in the minority here, but Allen doesn't work for me as an actor, and that hurt my impression of the movie. Still, all that aside, I do admit this is a solid movie that features some impressive performances and remarkable direction. This is indeed an entertaining, memorable movie.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5



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