Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Carol Kane, Paul Simon, Shelley Duvall

Directed By: Woody Allen

Unforgettable scene from the movie Annie Hall

Considering the fact that Woody Allen has made loads of movies in his lifetime very few have really made a mark. Some of his earlier work always echoed greatness but none came close to this master stroke. It took a lot out of him to write a love story about two ordinary people who meet at the parties of the high society of Manhattan. It delves into the lives of these two protagonists who paint the town with their echoes of love. It is surely everybody’s favorite Woody Allen movie. It was the movie that brought me close to this guy. I thought he was more of a comedian and never thought of him as a bitter sweet sort of story teller. His ideas of love and hilarity almost bridge so many gaps in this really humane story.

Woody Allen plays Alvie a comedian who runs through life without much of trouble but then chances upon the gorgeous and little over the top Annie played beautifully by Diane Keaton. Their relationship with these two people share are like rose petals with loads of thorns in the stem. The story pushes with what these two people share in their lives. It gives us a fresh sense of what love can do to people. There are so many people who want to fall in love and there are others who don’t want to hear about it. There is a third group of people who have sort of grown tired of the word. Woody Allen invests his time in these sorts of people. But many of us have really thwarted the ideas of relationship because of all the pain and complexities that come with it. But Woody Allen through this painfully thoughtful allegory tells us of how essential they are, even though he is not left with a relationship so to speak.

The film is more of a circle of reconciliations and break ups. They keep coming at several beats during the film. There are several instances of chance encounters that really seem to be extremely depressing. But the whole story does fall into the whirlpool called Life. It hits them like sores on their skins but they are ready to fix each wound. But most of the time they just forget or accidentally ignore. This is why the story is something of an autobiographical tale so to speak.

Woody Allen has a heart breaking love for his character that comes from a much wounded place in his mind. This is why it leaves glimpses of truth each of us might have witnessed at various instances in our lives. The treatment though old fashioned resonates with anyone who gets a chance to encounter it. Hopefully there will be many more movies that will use the same telling of the stories but a different treatment or environment. It is truly timeless in its structure and apathy for its characters. You just wish it doesn’t end and keep going on into several other labyrinths of stories. Alas the end comes and strikes where it really hurts.

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