Woody Allen's Funniest Film

Rating: 10/10 (23 August 2006)

To celebrate my 300th review for IMDb, I thought that I would turn to one of my favourite films from one of my favourite film-makers. "Annie Hall" is one of what I regard as Woody Allen's five truly great films, the others being (in chronological order) "Love and Death", "Manhattan", "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "Crimes and Misdemeanours". If "Manhattan" is Allen's most penetrating analysis of human relationships, and "Crimes and Misdemeanours" is his film with the greatest philosophical depth, then "Annie Hall" must surely be his funniest. It has a script that is sparklingly witty even by Woody's standards, containing such classic Woodyisms as "I was thrown out of N.Y.U. my freshman year for cheating on my metaphysics final, you know, I looked within the soul of the boy sitting next to me" and the unforgettable "Don't knock masturbation. It's sex with someone I love".
Like "Manhattan", "Annie Hall" is a study of relationships set among New York's bohemian classes, but is simpler in its structure. Whereas "Manhattan" was centred around a sort of eternal quadrangle that at times threatened to become a pentagon or even hexagon, "Annie Hall" is very much based on the relationship between one man and one woman. It is probably Woody's most autobiographical film. His character is named Alvy Singer; the name "Alvy", short for Alvin, was probably chosen because of its closeness to "Allen". Diane Keaton, who was his real-life girlfriend at this time, plays Alvy's lover, Annie Hall. (Hall is Keaton's real surname). Like Woody, Alvy is a Jewish New York comedian. Like Keaton, Annie is a Gentile, originally from the Mid-West, and is working in New York as an actress and singer.
As is normal in Woody's films, the two main characters are very different. Alvy is the typical neurotic Allen intellectual, meeting every situation with angst-ridden humour. Like many Allen characters he can be described as passive-aggressive, but perhaps with less passivity and more aggressiveness than most. (Annie and his other girlfriends frequently characterise him as "hostile"). Annie is both more extrovert and more easygoing, and Alvy often envies her more relaxed attitude. Keaton, in what was probably her best performance in a distinguished career, plays her with great naturalness and charm; her "Best Actress" Oscar was well-deserved.
The plot is a simple one; it chronicles the development of Alvy and Annie's affair from their first meeting to their eventual break-up. (Alvy compares their relationship to a shark which dies if it cannot keep going forward). Annie then becomes involved with a Hollywood producer and Alvy travels to California to see if he can win her back. (Woody clearly does not care much for California in general and Los Angeles in particular; the film contains some of his most barbed contributions to the East Coast/West Coast culture wars, along the lines of "I don't want to move to a city where the only cultural advantage is being able to make a right turn on a red light".) The simplicity of the plot, however, does not mean that this is a simple film. The story of Annie and Alvy's relationship is told in a non-linear manner with numerous flashbacks, including some to Alvy's two earlier marriages. Woody also makes very effective use of such devices as a split screen (in order to show Annie and Alvy simultaneously when they are not together) and subtitles (in order to show how his characters' true feelings do not match their words). There is even a brief cartoon sequence.
"Annie Hall" was, of course, the film that beat "Star Wars" to the "Best Picture" Oscar, something that was very controversial even at the time. Woody himself won "Best Director" ahead of George Lucas. Like any film lover I frequently have my disagreements with the Academy (such as when they failed even to nominate "Manhattan" in 1980) but I have to say that 1978 was one year when they got things completely right. I have nothing in particular against "Star Wars" itself, which is a well-made and entertaining science-fiction adventure, although I do dislike some of its sequels and the quasi-religious cult which has grown up around it. "Annie Hall", however, is far superior in its script, its characterisation, its acting and in its innovative techniques. "Star Wars" is superior only in its special effects, and the day when the Academy starts handing out "Best Picture" awards on the basis of special effects alone will be a sad one for the cinema.
The irony is that Woody Allen probably appreciated his Oscar far less than George Lucas would have done if he had won. He famously absented himself from the ceremony, preferring to attend his regular jazz session instead, and the film itself contains some satire at the expense of such prizes. ("What's with all these awards? They're always giving out awards. Best Fascist Dictator: Adolf Hitler."). In a sense, however, Oscars do not just belong to those who win them. They also belong to all those who appeared in or worked on the film and, in a wider sense, to all those who love it. On behalf of all those who, like me, admire "Annie Hall" and Woody's work in general, I hereby thank the Academy. 10/10