HK Neo Reviews: Annie Hall

Rating: 10/10 (18 July 2010)

Tagline: Woody Allen – you little genius...
Upon watching Woody Allen's Oscar winning 1977 Best Picture – Annie Hall, I just realise how late I was. Being late to a packed classroom is rather embarrassing, but it is still better than the lad who is still at home sleeping, missing out the action all together. That is precisely the feeling I ended up feeling. It is not easy for a romantic drama/comedy to still be relevant in exactly 33 years later. Like many of the gen Y, Woody Allen plus Scarlet Johansson is already what we known him as. It is little wonder why nearly everyone have become disappointed in Allen. He is certainly capable of much more. Annie Hall have all the trademarks of Mr. Allen's witty dialogue, monologue and basically people talking, talking and more talking. He likes to linger a shot longer and let the audience inside the movie, rather than the other way around. Sometimes, I wonder how a movie is going to affect me, but interestingly, it is the lack of musically impact that make Annie Hall more powerful and relating. The characters are quite simply humans. If the movie is about a lot of things, it is essentially a love story. The number of memorable scenes and dialogue is simply unforgettable. Understanding and following Woody and Diane Keaton conservations is like a re-dux of our own lives. It may not seem much, but for once, a film justifiably lusted out Star Wars for Best Picture and rightly so.
The movie goes like this: Woody Allen begins the movie heartbroken and from there the tale of his past relationships are shown in spades of time. However, the focus is really on his love story with Annie Hall. The connection, the meeting, the moments, the sex, the table talks, the cinema lines, the harbour views, the departure, the ending and the cafe are all essentially part of making up who Allen is trying to portray. Essentially a movie about a love lost, the difficult to find that compatibility, but portrayed in the wittiest of manner.
There are moments that you seem as though you are the characters in the movie. Talks like a couple at a restaurant talking about the family table next to them or the couple walking along the way. Small talks are what couples do and Allen conveys exactly that. There is another scene where after his first time sex with Annie, he smartly remarks: "There goes another novel." Other classic scenes that stayed in my memory would be the long cinema line, where the guy behind Woody keeps talking about a certain movie and it got to the point where Woody approached the camera and ranted out his frustration of the guy knowing nothing. The guy in return confronted the camera to explain himself and Woody pulls out the producer of the movie to explain that the guy is wrong. It may sound tedious, but it is these subtle moments that makes the movie work. Being able to keep up with Allen's character and the things he say is a vital part of relationships. Towards the end, when he is picking up lobsters with a new muse, he did a witty remark and the fact that the girl didn't understand him, it compels his instincts that reminds him of the connection he had with Annie is irreplaceable.
Woody Allen is one of the wittiest film-maker around and his performance here seem extremely realistic. Whether or not, the reason for this is because of the way he plays around with the audience, constantly talking to them, looking at the camera, dreaming of events and simply through continuous talking. On surface and appearance along, Diane Keaton does not match with Woody, but as the movie goes on, you know exactly why they were a couple. There is that connection of words and minds between the two. As the movie continues the audience can look back or forward to their relationships and realise it is precisely the flow of conversation that make the relationship unique and work. For me, I cannot comprehend a girl that does not understand the manner, the tone of something I am trying to say and for Woody it seems true. That is why Diane Keaton is so amazing, she speaks her mind, she understands Woody and she knows when to move on. After-all the film does end with something like – "but love fades".
All in all, Annie Hall is a masterpiece. It is a timeless movie on many different levels. The dialogue is top notched. The direction and editing are suitably creative. Comedies hardly ever win Best Picture and for it to win over a blockbuster of a film in Star Wars, it is an unprecedented achievement. Perhaps what Woody did in Annie Hall may never be repeated and nor should it ever be. Full marks for Woody for saying that he will never direct a sequel to this, as some films should have been left as it was. Like Before Sunrise, the film is about people talking, living, eating, talking, sexing and more talking. It is a film that you need to let go of the boundaries of the movie experience and let the joy comes along the way. Movies like these are magical and grow onto you more and more after the credit rolls. What I really enjoyed is the fact that the movie somehow affected me without the usual gimmicks of emotional soundtrack, but rather through witty and relevant dialogues and real human characters that interacts to make Annie Hall, the romantic comedy of the century...(Neo 2010)
I rate it 10/10

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