Annie Hall

This week in class we viewed the film Annie Hall and discussed Postmodernism. Annie Hall was released in 1977 and was directed by Woody Allen, who also starred in it. The film seemed nearly autobiographical in that Allen played a Jewish comedian living in Brooklyn and went through the motions of a relationship that Allen may have experienced in his life. Diane Keaton played the title character which may have been actually based on her since her birth surname is also Hall. The film stands out by documenting an interesting relationship between interesting people and does not seem to follow any of the cliche Hollywood love story formulas. There are many awkward moments between the two, where both are kind of just bumbling over their words trying to figure out what to say to each other. There is also no happy ending where they look like they are going to stay together forever. It seems to follow the flow of a more average relationship between two adults, where no one is perfect and more often than not things just simply do not work out like you want them to.


Lukacs describes modernism as insignificant and too focused of aestheticism. He is more on the side of realism where nothing is sugar-coated and appearance is not placed above the deeper meaning. Annie Hall practices realism by going against the usual playing out of a love story. By showing that not everyone knows exactly what to say or do at the right moment or that everything can be worked out no matter what, it reflects more realistic relationships and people can relate more to the characters being portrayed. Lukacs describes realism as going "beyond the world of appearance to express the true nature of reality, its underlying trends, characteristics and structures" (Barker 187). Annie Hall does this by showing that relationships are not always romantic, pretty, happy, or without numerous problems. It shows the entirety of a relationship and all of the instances that lead to its downfall, much like how it would occur in real life. It even goes deeper into the unpleasant that is not usually shown in light-hearted movies, like trouble in the bedroom and even therapy sessions. This allows for a more believable story.


Annie Hall can also be described as a Postmodern film. The way that it breaks the fourth wall of cinema and talks to the audience through the camera allows those watching a more personal look into the actions of the characters. it is also the way the movie is fragmented, cutting from one scene to another, not necessarily in the proper order of events, and even doing flashbacks into past experiences. It demonstrates reflexivity in Woody's character Alvy bringing up instances from his childhood that may account for how he handles difficult situations and caused his actions as an adult. It is the matter of self-reference that Alvy digs into what went wrong in his relationship with Annie. He uses events in his past to try to explain what drives his reactions to things now that he is an adult. It manifests in him also trying to better fit into the social structure in which he exists.