Annie Hall (1977)

I must begin this by saying that Annie Hall has for quite some time now been my default answer when people ask me what my all time favourite film is. I decided upon this as my choice for the simple reason that at the end of the film, every time I watch it I feel warm inside, I feel as though life is once again worth living. As it turns out, with multiple viewings over the years I have come to see Annie Hall as not just a feel good film, but also a technically brilliant film deserving of all the praise it receives in all areas.

First of all for those of you have not seen it, Annie Hall is a semi-autobiographical tale of the relationship between Woody Allen and Dianne Keaton, their chemistry on screen feels like something that could not be acted but a real true life love that the two share for each other. It follows them in various stages of their relationship, from their first meeting, to their eventual break up and even a little after that.

I can't remember precisely but I think this was the first Woody Allen film I ever saw, and it is quite some introduction to one of the finest filmmakers of the last century. In this film Woody Allen produced his most mature work to date, focussing on both the intimate details of specific people whilst also touching upon the foibles of life in general. It is touching, personal and feels honest. In fact I am struggling to think of any on screen relationship that has felt more true to life (or perhaps your memory of a relationship) than this one. Much is made of Diane Keaton in this film, and she is indeed superb, but people often overlook Woody himself, whilst he tends to play similar characters in his films, the subtle nuances in his performances prove that he is actually an incredibly talented actor, and as many people tend to struggle when asked to play a version of themselves, the fact that Woody Allen does it instinctively is to be admired.

The direction is very inventive throughout, for example the decision to jump around in time so freely, assuming that the audience will keep up with no subtitles to tell you timeframe of the events you are watching. This gives the whole film the feel of a fond memory, this is amplified by Woody's constant breaking of the 4th wall and talking to the audience, inviting us into his thoughts and feelings without any other character noticing one bit. Little things such as the subtitles provided whilst the characters are talking about photography giving the audience an insight into what the characters are actually thinking about as opposed to what they're actually saying. Or perhaps the flights of fancy that Woody Allen goes off on, whether it's talking to the cartoon evil witch from Snow White, or having his parents talking to Annie's parents across the split screen this film is full of wonderful invention that is lacking from so many comedies.

It is things like these that have made Annie Hall stand the test of time, and become a shining example of what a comedy can achieve, because this film is funny, it's very funny. I could give you a long list of quotes (if I wanted to bore you perhaps) which if said to anyone who had seen the film, would have them in stitches in moments. This film is a true classic that encapsulates every idea I ever had about love and looks at them fondly. Nearly perfect.