Funny yet sad

Rating: 9/10 (19 July 2004)

SPOILERS
"Annie Hall" is often described as Woody Allen's finest hit. Whilst personally "Sleeper" is a superior film, there's no denying the beauty of Allen's 1977 classic. This film is a brilliant piece of cinema which makes us laugh, but ultimately culminates in adding an element of misery to our lives.
In "Annie Hall", Woody Allen writes, directs and stars as Alvy Singer. Alvy is a depressive kinda guy who seems to be obsessed with books and films about death. One day, into his life comes the eccentric Annie Hall (the brilliant Diane Keaton). The two engage on a love affair which will forever change their lives.
With this film, Allen has once again combined a pessimistic leading character with a razor sharp wit with a beautiful co-star for him to fall in love with. The relationship between Alvy and Annie develops from their first encounter on a tennis court through a couple of years to a reunion in Manhattan. This film teaches us about life, and it makes us laugh in the process. Perhaps the one flaw in fact is that we come away from "Annie Hall" not praising it's comedy as much as feeling sad as a result of it's climax. No relationship is perfect, but perhaps at times Hollywood's fake plan that we all live happily ever after has it's benefits. Irrelevant of realism, this idea of a perfect ending does allow the audience to leave with a smile rather than feeling miserable.
It's unfair on Allen's art though to refer to it as a piece of misery. Despite the ending and it's expression on our lives, the thing to remember is that in "Annie Hall", as with all his movies, Allen succeeds in giving us ninety minutes of laughter. Woody Allen is, and probably always will be, a genius.
One final point worth mentioning regarding this film is yet another reminder of Allen's greatness. As well as creating a hilariously funny film which makes us all laugh, if you watch this film closely, there are three future stars who feature as minor characters in this movie. Whilst Jeff Goldblum, Beverley D'Angelo and Sigourney Weaver had all appeared in a few minor films before hand (Goldblum and D'Angelo both appearing in "Sentinel" from 1977 with fellow "Annie Hall" cast member Christopher Walken), it seems likely that especially in the case of Goldblum, it was their performances as short minor characters in Allen's film that might one day lead to their extensive careers. With a cast of future stars, this film becomes even more poignant.
All in all, "Annie Hall" is brilliant. Personally there's no denying that there's a preference for "Sleeper", but this film is equally as good and it is worthy of any praise it might receive. Woody Allen was, is and always appears to be a comedy God.