The appealing elements in Annie Hall are so numerous that even history cannot keep up with its attention to detail. A scene of Alvy trying cocaine and sneezing into the mirror, blowing the drug into a cloud is just one of Allen’s most hilarious social comments. He also references Annie’s need to smoke marijuana to get relaxed for sex, where clever in-camera effects and editing (there were no digital effects in the 1970s) show how she leaves her physical body to make a point that Annie’s not fully engaged. There are scenes where the screenplay brings characters to life to prove a point, such as an argument about Federico Fellini and Marshall McLuhan standing in line for a movie where McLuhan stands in. Only in Manhattan could this eccentric thinking work. Allen brings cultural and intellectual charisma to the screen.
Allen offers several levels of thinking about relationships, including a poignant animated sequence of Annie being the Wicked Witch, setting the stage for what’s to come. At a dinner with her parents, Alvy is the Jew in the company of beloved Grammy Hall, who he directly calls out as a Jew-hater. It’s all on point, but in jest — it was also a time in history. It pushes the story to levels of understanding that the dialogue alone does not, and the film has a ton of talking. However, it’s the sequence of Alvy breaking the fourth wall where Allen shows his best work and moves back and forth from acting to reality.
“…great screenwriting…”
Besides the cultural and story nuances, there are some phenomenal day player parts and bits that prove the film’s mettle. A young Christopher Walken plays Annie’s psychotic brother. Jeff Bloom talks about losing his mantra at a party in Los Angeles hosted by Annie’s new boyfriend music producer Tony Lacey, played by Paul Simon. That scene is memorable because of all the white suits and modern California architecture that dominate it. And Alvy sleeps with Rolling Stone reporter Pam, a young Shelley Duval who finds their sex Kafkaesque as they lay in bed. And then there’s Carol Kane as Allison Portchnik. Annie Hall really captures what it’s like living in New York at that time, another thing Allen knows well.
Annie Hall is more or less bookended with Keaton singing the classic songs “It Had to be You” and “Seems Like Old Times.” It is so appropriate, and it’s also Annie at her best, especially when placed alongside her rendition of “La-dee-da, la-dee-da.”
"…really captures what it's like living in New York at that time..."
