Here is an essay on the genre of Annie Hall, have a read, take a butchers, have a ganj, take peep,
ANNIE HALL: A GENRE ANALYSIS.
Ira Konigsberg defines genre as “A group of films having recognizably similar plots, character types, settings, filmic techniques and themes.”1 By this definition what would Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977) be best considered as in terms of Genre? We can rule out Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror, Action and Adventure, but that leaves comedy, romance and drama out of the most basic genres of film. This is where this analysis is important, Annie Hall is notoriously difficult to pigeonhole in such a way one can not say that Annie Hall is outright a comedy, though it is funny to some, nor is it fully romantic though the plot revolves around Singer (Woody Allen) and Hall’s (Diane Keaton) relationship. The drama is however intrinsic and essential to Annie Hall, the drama increases and builds until Alvy Singer says something sarcastic and pithy to diffuse the situation, this continuous juxtaposition of dialogue does not suit any of the basic genres.
Konigsberg further states that “The simple repetition of generic conventions creates films that are dull and clichéd”2. One thing that can be said about Annie Hall is that it is neither dull nor clichéd, at one point Singer and Hall are in the line up to see a movie, a loud pretentious man is talking behind them and says something critical of philosopher and media critic Marshal Mclewan. Woody Allen’s character becomes enraged (as much as Woody Allen can get) steps out of the line up, confronts this man and then disappears behind a cinema standee to retrieve Marshal Mclewan himself who proceeds to bust the pretentious man in a single sentence, Alvy Singer addresses the camera with a sarcastic remark and everything goes back to normal. This is just one of many situations where the audience is unwittingly taken out of the scene by the impossible or unlikely action within it, a definite indicator of the unusual and somewhat original as opposed to the dull or clichéd. These scenes in and of themselves however did represent an infancy of a new style of filmmaking especially for a Hollywood production, a self parodying and self referential style; an archetype of post modern western filmmaking. Recognizably similar filmic techniques and themes these are not if one were to look at other romance, comedy and drama films (and any permutations of the three) made in Hollywood during and before Annie Hall. However they are present in the Italian neo-realism movement and the French new wave of the 50’s and 60’s. Of which Allen/Alvy refers to many times during Annie Hall.
The basis of a romantic comedy, however, is the stereotypical ‘boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back’ plot, Annie Hall gets 2 out the three. For Annie Hall the basis is that boy meets girl then boy loses girl twice, the end. In this we have to look at what happens in between these significant events, and specifically their character traits and behaviour. They meet at a tennis game shared with mutual friends; Annie offers Alvy a lift home scaring the proverbial poo out of him in the process, he makes his move and everything is hunky-dory for a while. They break up over a neurotic argument, but get back together again, technically though Alvy never gets the girl back in the true sense, they are ‘dead sharks’ they just don’t realise it. This is hinted at first and foremost when we witness Annie sparking up a joint before making love, first time Alvy is not too fussed the second time is more significant in that Annie ghosts herself (i.e. separates mind from body which the audience witnesses visually). The act of smoking the pot removes her head from the act of sex with Alvy. The points where Alvy reminisces and indeed witnesses first hand (again) his own childhood are important motivation and reasoning behind his character traits and behaviour. They both have trouble expressing their true feelings, an often used template of tension between characters. Bordwell and Thompson illiterate by saying “The introspective performance of Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in Annie Hall, built around vague gestures and small changes in expression, suit a film about characters trying to define and articulate their feelings.”3
These ‘vague gestures and small changes in expression’ are what help make a character believable (if one takes out of the equation the skill of the actor), this is true in Annie Hall but the aforementioned ghosting and reminiscing are what define these characters, and in turn the characters define the plot of the film. These definitive scenes mark the major plot points in the film, and again the recognizably similar plots and character types which define a genre are lacking in Annie Hall.
When one thinks of genre there is often some contention as to what defines a specific genre as a whole, and as such Annie Hall is full of contentions. It contains elements of comedy, drama and romance not to mentions specific styles, or imitations of styles, of filmmaking. The comedy derives itself from Alvy and his neuroses, the spider in the bath, the lobster under the fridge and Annie Halls brother all being excellent examples. These situations are made funny by Alvy’s constant talking, uttering sarcastic and self deprecating remarks. The romance and the disintegration of their relationship have a tragi-comic element brought on by both of the main characters neuroses; the idea is that it should be heartbreaking to some and hilarious to others. The rules of genre, however loose they may be, still do not apply because of this constant overlap in addition to the unusual and distinctive aspects of the story. The term ‘recognizably similar’ provides the means to analyse Annie Hall in terms of other films like it. Whether these character types and plots Konigsberg speak of exist in Annie Hall or not does not mean a genre is unattainable, just it has yet to match a suit or type as yet defined. It is not the purpose of this analysis to define this genre but to analyse where it fits currently, which is nowhere.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1. Konigsberg, I. The complete Film Dictionary, 2nd Edition, BLOOMSBURY: London, 1997. Pg 164.
2. Ibid, Pg 164.
3. Bordwell, D. & Thomson, K. Film Art: An Introduction 4th Edition, McGraw-Hill: London, 1993. Pg 160.
