Dos extraños amantes

Woody Allen's seminal 1977 romantic comedy "Annie Hall" is not only laugh-out-loud funny (with some of the most quotable dialogue ever written for the screen...this is the "Casablanca" of comedies, folks) but also sweet and charming (due in large part because of Diane Keaton's smashing performance as the title character, the flighty singer from Wisconsin with a quirky fashion sense and "neat" outlook on life) without ever turning trite or sappy like so many romantic comedies tend to do. Allen wisely deconstructed the genre with his non-linear story-line (something that was later done to even greater effect with a more recent and profound look at relationships, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind") and charming little theatrical tricks like talking to the audience or pulling extras into the scene for their opinions on what's been going on. It keeps the viewer off guard and allows for a free flow of comedic and philosophical ideas that might otherwise not have found their way into a more traditional film.

In his latter years, Allen's best work has been when he is not part of the cast (my personal favorites being "Bulletts over Broadway," "Sweet and Lowdown," and the recent "Match Point"). "Annie Hall" was made in his heyday when he could still pull off playing a neurotic New York Jewish comedienne with charm and panache. There's something innocent and benign about his obsessions here, as this was long before the Woody/Soon-Yi fiasco and the days of grossly miscasting himself against younger female co-stars. Yes, Mr. Allen has been artsier (witness "Manhattan") and more satirical (witness "Zelig") but here, with Diane Keaton as his muse, he was never more charming or funnier.

Woody Allen's masterpiece will always be "Annie Hall." What is most remarkable today about this film is the way Allen presents it. It's a movie about a relationship. But rather than taking a linear approach, Allen plays with time. We see the middle, the begining, and the end. And not always in that order. Allen also breaks the fourth wall a lot and has many dream sequences and asides which add to the complexity of the characters. This is a highly autobiographical film and Allen pulls no punches. This movie is not about romance in the way that "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is. Rather, "Annie Hall" is a deconstruction of a romance. At times it is funny and heartbreaking and always classic. "Love fades," indeed.

`Annie Hall', long thought to be Woody Allen's opus, is perhaps a perfect romantic comedy because it not only shows the happy, touching moments of relationships, but also displays the reality of coupling – the occasional waning of interest in one another, the hypercritical moments, etc. It is absolutely brilliantly written; Woody Allen exhibits his usual dry humor and self-deprecation, but also his sensitive, passionate and romantic side. It was because of this film that I fell in love with Woody Allen at the age of twelve (take your cheap shot here) and almost twenty years later he still is that intellectual, bookish and humorous ideal. Diane Keaton was his muse and co-star for this film, and they are perfect counterparts – so much so that their interaction onscreen doesn't seem like viewing two actors in a film, but is a much more voyeuristic experience. Watching `Annie Hall' is like sitting at a bistro table and observing another couple a few tables away, and that is just one of the elements that make this film so endearing. Most people can relate to at least some aspects of Alvy and Annie's relationship, which helps make this film a timeless one.

However, `Annie Hall' is not just a good romantic comedy; it is a film that engages some unusual storytelling techniques. Actors speak directly to the audience, characters interact with strangers on the street who just happen to know the answers to the personal questions posed, there is a brief animation scene, etc. While none of these approaches were new in 1977, their execution was inspired. `Annie Hall' is like a fond memory, or a favorite old song – anytime I have discussed this film with others their smiling expressions are usually tinged with a hint of nostalgia, because one can look back on either their past or current relationship and do what precious few films allow us to do – relate on a personal level.

--Shelly

"Annie Hall" is a brilliant romantic comedy that could have only been made by Woody Allen (Oscar-winning in directing and writing, nominated in acting). Allen stars as a Jewish stand-up comic who falls in love with aspiring actress Diane Keaton (in a well-deserved Oscar-winning turn as the titled character). Their relationship is explored throughout the course of the film in a gentle and warm-hearted way. Allen's unique views and brand of humor are prevalent from start to finish and the film is clearly made in the 1970s as many issues from that time period are explored as the film progresses. "Annie Hall" is simple in many ways, but deals with romantic issues in complex ways and the film is just so intelligent that it is near impossible to dislike. Woody Allen is brilliant as he usually is. Diane Keaton hit super-stardom as well with her role. The supporting cast includes the likes of Carol Kane, Shelley Duvall, Tony Roberts, Christopher Walken and Colleen Dewhurst. Look for an unknown Jeff Goldblum as an extra during the Los Angeles sequence. 5 stars out of 5.

Woody is an intelligent man who worries about the issues of film-making. The primary concern, the very first problem, is always to decide what the relationships are among the audience, the camera, the narrator if any, and the characters.

Woody was on his way to making a murder mystery, which is the purest form of messing about with these relationships. In a much studied decision, they decided to cut out all the mystery and just focus on the context. In this case, that context is a richly layered evocation of a relationship. I really wish I could see the original film to discover the mysteries Woody intended to hide in the folds.

And the folds are as numerous and complex as they can get. We have a framing device where Woody speaks to us partly as a conversation which blends into a standup, which is mirrored as a part of the story. We have timeshifting where we move back and forth in time in a simple 'Tarantino' way; but we go way past: characters from the 'present' enter the past as Dickensian ghosts, then they talk to characters in the past. we have characters in different pasts talking to each other via split screen. We have a layering of Woody and Diane's relationship in real life, then the film, then TWO films within: a play which is part of the action and a cartoon which is the action itself.

More: we have Woody talking to the audience as if we were shifted into the play -- early in that play we are introduced to Bergman and Fellini: in both cases while they are waiting outside. These are the two inventors of folded narrative. Even more: while some bozo perfessor spouts off about Fellini and McLuhan, Woody enlists the audience to challenge him and drags out McLuhan himself! The joke of course is that McLuhan himself was a vapid weaver of lowbrow theories.

And more and more with the constant weaving of 'analysis' and other film-like activities: singers, photographers, TeeVee stars, models...

This period was when he was first exposed to Wallace Shawn who was hanging out with Terrence Malick, two other innovators in narrative folding. All the 'New Yorker' stuff means more when you know Shawn's father was the long-time editor of that publication and defined the self-absorbed reflection that characterizes the city and this film.

Keaton's manner was essential to pulling this off, someone who could pull off the story about her uncle dying while waiting for a Turkey. Watch her.. she is clued in to simultaneously being in herself (Keaton), herself (Hall), inside the story she is telling and inside the story Woody is telling. She shifts and guffaws just as if she were stoned and moving among realities, just as her character.

Just amazing and intelligent. Will we ever see this the way it was written and shot? Or is that mystery too intelligent for us, who prefer to think of this as a funny, endearing love story.