Annie Hall

I wish all romantic comedies were like this, and maybe society would have a more realistic idea of what a relationship is. I appreciated how honest and raw the film was about the couple arguing, having second thoughts about each other, and having problems in the bedroom.

Alvy is constantly repeating the quote, “I would never want to belong to any club that would have me as a member.” This plays on the idea that you want what you can’t have, and what you can have, you don’t want. This theme carries through to their sex life as well. At the beginning of their relationship, when Annie is more interested in sex, Alvy is not. When the tables turn and Annie is disinterested, their dead bedroom becomes Alvy’s main focus.

In a scene from his childhood, a teacher is shaming Alvy for kissing the girl next to him. She then went around the classroom asking about where each of the other students ended up as an adult. The students who didn’t act on their desires were incredibly successful. It seems like the screenwriter is trying to imply that success comes from controlling desire and impulse. This concept is extended in Alvy and Annie’s careers. Although their relationship appeared to jumpstart both of their careers, it wasn’t until they’d broken up or were becoming distant that either saw success in their line of work.

What I found most unusual about this film was the sequence of events. A typical romantic comedy would start with the meet cute, the relationship would escalate to a conflict, then, of course, the conflict would be resolved and the couple lives happily ever after. Annie Hall, however, started with the couple arguing and the meet cute didn’t come until later. The audience sees the cringe-worthy moments of their relationship before the ‘cute stuff’.  It gives an aura of imperfection to both of the characters and their relationship. Annie is not the ‘end all be all’ for Alvy and vice versa. They strongly desire one another at various points in the film, but we’re never under the illusion that they are perfect, or that they will be together forever.

This film did a great job at fairly accurately conveying what it’s like to go through the ups and downs of an interpersonal relationship. As they learned more about each other, Annie began to appear in memories that never involved her. I thought this was a brilliant way to convey what it’s like to learn a new person and almost infiltrate their life, even the pieces in which you are not involved. It was easy to see that for Alvy especially, this relationship had permeated his entire life, from childhood up to current day.