In Memory of Diane Keaton: “Annie Hall”

A few weeks ago, actress Diane Keaton passed away at the age of 79. Her career has spanned more than six decades, during which she rose to prominence in the New Hollywood movement. Keaton’s accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe awards, along with nominations for two Emmy Awards and a Tony Award, among many other accolades.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be taking a look at a few of this talented actress’ films - starting with the 1977 film that won Keaton her first and only Best Actress Oscar, “Annie Hall.”

Comedian Alvy Singer examines the rise and fall of his relationship with struggling nightclub singer Annie Hall.

Speaking directly to the audience in front of a bare background, Singer reflects briefly on his childhood and his early adult years before settling in to tell the story of how he and Annie met, fell in love, and struggled with the obstacles of modern romance, mixing surreal fantasy sequences with small amounts of emotional drama.

This was actually my first time checking out this award-winning film. The 1977 film “Annie Hall” is known for its innovative and unconventional storytelling, including its non-linear structure and the way it broke the fourth wall. Now, while quite a few films nowadays feature a non-linear structure and breaking the fourth wall, in 1977 this kind of storytelling was rare and unique.

The main character, Alvy Singer, speaks directly to the audience numerous times throughout this film, which was a technique not often used at the time. As soon as Singer begins breaking the fourth wall, I can easily tell this isn’t going to be your typical romantic comedy. The fourth wall breaks are actually quite effective as Alvy delivers jokes directly to the camera and these little breaks also deepens the emotional resonance by letting the audience into his vulnerability and pain.

Critics and audiences really praised Diane Keaton’s performance as Annie Hall for its effortless charm, authenticity and endearing vulnerability - and I completely agree! Audiences were easily captivated by the way she embodied the quirky, free-spirited, and independent character, creating a character that was both a product of its time and timeless.

This 1977 award-winning film also delivers quite a few moments that are both completely memorable and hilarious. There’s a scene where Alvy and Annie are waiting in line at the movie theater and they’re in front of a loud-mouthed academic - which is probably one of the most infamous examples of the film breaking the fourth wall for comedic effect.

There’s also a scene with the couple where they are making nervous small talk over drinks and subtitles appear on screen revealing their true, insecure thoughts. That entire scene was not only clever and hilarious, but also relatable.

Keaton’s portrayal of Annie Hall cemented her status as a cinematic and cultural icon, proving that quirky, authentic characters could be just as compelling as traditional romantic heroines. The performance showcased her range as an actress and set the stage for her to take on more complex, dramatic roles in the years that followed.

MPA: Rated PG   (runtime 93 minutes)

You can currently stream “Annie Hall” for free on Tubi. I will have another “In Memory of Diane Keaton” review for the 11/19 Examiner and the 11/26 Examiner!

• The scene where Alvy and Annie are at their psychiatrists, which looks like a split screen scene, was actually shot simultaneously on one set with an adjoining wall.

• Alvy's (Woody Allen's) sneezing into the cocaine was an unscripted accident. When previewed, the audience laughed so loud that director Allen decided to leave it in, and had to add footage to compensate for people missing the next few jokes from laughing too much. (In my opinion, this is one of the funniest moments in the film)

• Annie's outfits, which caused a brief fashion rage, were Diane Keaton's own clothes.

• With this film, Woody Allen became the first person to give an Oscar nominated performance in a film for which he won Best Director.

• The house under the rollercoaster where Alvy grew up is actually the Kensington Hotel in Coney Island, Brooklyn, which was located underneath the Thunderbolt rollercoaster. Allen discovered it while searching locations during filming. The hotel and rollercoaster were demolished in 2000.

• Woody Allen and Diane Keaton had trouble keeping a straight face when working together. An example of the uncontrollable laughter between the two was the lobster dinner scene. It was the first scene shot for the movie and neither Woody nor Diane had to do much acting for the scene, for their laughter was completely spontaneous.

• An early appearance by Jeff Goldblum playing the party guest who "forgot his mantra".

• Though based primarily on Woody Allen's real-life relationship with Diane Keaton, the fact that Annie Hall comes from Chippewa Falls, Wis, likely was inspired by Allen's past relationship with folk singer Judy Henske, who was born in Chippewa Falls. Keaton was born in Los Angeles.

• It has long been speculated that Diane Keaton's Best Actress Oscar was strongly bolstered by her shattering performance that same year in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), and that the disturbing, sordid nature of the latter film led to its being shut out by Academy voters, which resulted in Keaton winning the award for this film.

• The movie theater line-up scene is done in a long take. The shot starts when the man behind Alvy starts speaking.

• Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time" in 2006.