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Movies & TV Movies & TV Reviews

Annie Hall broke the rules

Rating: NNNNN


ANNIE HALL (Woody Allen, 1977) is often hailed as a classic romantic comedy, but in fact it breaks as many genre rules as it follows. Woody Allen’s only film to win him a best-director Oscar follows his own tortuous view of romance. Annie Hall was the bridge between Allen’s earlier scattershot comedies and his more mature narrative style. It’s not Bringing Up Baby. It also featured a breakout performance by Diane Keaton. Her portrait of a gangly WASP neurotic, with her sheltering hats and her “la-dee-dah” mannerisms, struck a chord straight through the culture, and scored her her own Oscar. Keaton’s work here has shadowed the rest of her career, which keeps open the question of how much of Annie was actually Keaton. But it also inspired her heir in the genre, Meg Ryan. NNNNN (July 6, Paradise)

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