A review of the 1977 classic “Annie Hall”
This is a Woody Allen film: he co-wrote and directed it and takes the lead role. But it is also a Diane Keaton movie: she absolutely lights up the screen with her beauty, personality and dress style. This was the fourth of seven works which Allen and Keaton made together and, for some of the time, they were in a relationship in spite of the 11-year age difference. What’s more, Keaton was born Diane Hall and nicknamed Annie. So, to a considerable extent, they were playing themselves here which gives added piquancy to this delightful work.
Set in the mind of Allen’s neurotic character, the film deploys a whole variety of techniques to engage the viewer – flashbacks, speech to camera, split screen, subtitled thoughts – and the very funny script is full of wonderful one-liners. There are cameos from future stars such as Jeff Goldblum and Christopher Walken, guest appearances from Truman Capote and Marshall MacLuhan essentially playing themselves, and even roles for spiders and lobsters.
“Annie Hall” won four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Screenplay. Allen won Best Director (he was nominated for Best Actor) and Keaton won Best Actress.