Annie Hall

B+

I read a review of Mike Nichols' Closer, "Finally, a romantic story for adults." I agree to disagree. Closer was for adults, but it wasn't a romantic story (at least I hope not), and had he/she watched Annie Hall, he/she would've left out the word "finally".

Annie Hall is truly a love story for adults. It's not sugar coated like so so many romances we see today, at the age of 20, I cannot possibly claim that I even begin to grasp half of the depth of this movie. But even half of it is more than enough.

Annie Hall opened with Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) monologing about how he had just broken up with the love-of-his-life Annie Hall (Diane Keaton). The next hour and a half consist of flashbacks on how Alvy and Annie met, how their relationship blossomed, how he's paranoid about everything and how she can't have sex without smoking some weed first (talk about self-esteem killer), and how they went on-and-off in the space of a year. Finally, it all comes down to whether Alvy would put all his fears aside and fight for love. You might think you know what's coming, but you'd be pleasantly surprised.

Clocking in at 90 minutes, Annie Hall is lean and mean. It packs alot into such a short time. As I said, most of Allen's humor went over my head (and I felt it like with a swoosh) - I think you'd have to be at least familiar with that 70's mindset to understand most of them - but still there are many genuinely funny moments in the movie. The banter between Alvy and Annie, I cannot understand; and their sexual innuendos are often too raw for me to grasp (I repeat, I'm not even 20 yet).

I cannot grasp Woody Allen the actor. Don't get me wrong, Manhattan and Annie Hall alone would've sufficed to permanently seal his fame as a story-teller. But as an actor? How is it that in both movies, many women fall head-over-hells, sex-on-the-first-date in love with a balding guy that talks funny? He's good with dead-pan humor, but Albert Brooks would've been funnier without trying. I wonder how much a better movie Annie Hall would've been with Allen at the helm and a young Tom Hanks as Alvy.

Despite that, Annie Hall is a genuinely touching and real motion picture. It's not manufactured or sugar-coated, but it's raw and genuine. It's probably Lost In Translation for the people of the 70's - that's just an amateur movie-addict talking. Though I don't think I'll be touching another Woody Allen movie anytime soon (Match Point being an exception) I'm glad I've caught Annie Hall. It's one in a million.
~