Rating of
4/4
"Sex with you is really a Kafkaesque experience."
Arbogast1960 - wrote on 05/30/08
Lobsters. An animated Snow White spoof. A coital out of body experience. Split-screens. Direct addresses to the camera. Non-linear chronology. These are just a handful of the mechanisms that Woody Allen employs in his lively, infectious romantic comedy. Usually, when one hears the phrase "romantic comedy," one instinctively cringes, visions of tired, treacly creakers like Serendipity or What Happens in Vegas popping frighteningly into one's head. Annie Hall disregards all these conventions and demonstrates the possibilities of the genre. Allen's neurotic nebbish, in full "Woody" mode, and Keaton's scatterbrained title character form one of the most endearing couples in screen history--particularly Keaton, who enchants in one of her finest, Oscar-winning performances. The film finds Allen at his peak as both a screenwriter and director, deftly combining the off-the-wall comedy of his early works with the pathos and depth of character of his later films. The result is the richest piece in Allen's oeuvre. Endlessly quotable 1970s classic should be sought out immediately, sooner if possible.
