Perfection Meets Novelty in a Rare Cornucopia of Comedic Euphoria

Rating: 10/10 (2 April 2016)

The acme of Woody Allen's work, Annie Hall is a biopic of not only New York neurotic Alvy Singer, but also of Allen's own wit and intellectualism. Cleverly written, the jokes are heady enough to delight even the most serious thinkers while approachable enough to sate the general armchair cinephile. Allen's direction of Annie Hall jumps from relatively simplistic cinematography to brilliant uses of breaking the fourth wall, even, at times, jumping genres in style. While the production is as sporadic as the soupçon-psychotic protagonists, it never interrupts the flow of the narrative
Sweet, enrapturing, and frustrating at times, Annie Hall is a portrait of absolute romantic pessimism that somehow makes you feel content even when things don't necessarily "go well" in the end. From the iconic monologue at the beginning to the lonely street corner at the finale, Allen's character Singer knows that he doesn't have a prayer, but that's okay. It's not about the ending, per se, as it is about the journey of romantic Beulah and high-brow humor to get there. From the onset you realize the inescapable outcome of Singer's predicament, but that doesn't stop you from cheering him on in the meantime. Only Allen could craft a work that makes human emptiness feel so satisfying.