Annie Hall’s numerous elements of visual
invention supplement the story’s main theme that art can reshape
life into something more palatable and satisfying. The narrative
itself works on this level, as Alvy revises the story to fit his
desires. In addition, some of the film’s visual techniques allow
a different, surprising way for Alvy to go back (literally) and
editorialize on the past. Allen appropriates some techniques, such
as direct addresses to the camera and a nonlinear timeline, from
his own cinematic influences—Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, and
the Marx Brothers, among others. Other gags, entirely original and
influential in their own right, serve to show that the film is not
about the relationship but rather about Alvy’s ideaof what
the relationship was. They gags also reinforce Allen’s own image
of a self-conscious artist who constantly uses art to revisit and revise
his life. With movies, he has the power and control to do so publicly.
One of the most famous techniques used in Annie
Hall is the double-exposed scene in which Alvy tries to
coax Annie into having sex without the assistance of drugs. To display
visually Annie’s distance and lack of interest, her body is double-exposed
so that one Annie is in bed with Alvy while another rises out of
bed to search for her drawing pad. Alvy speaks to both Annies, separately
and collectively. The visual gag gives humorous emphasis to the
conflict of the scene and of course revises what actually would
have happened. The visual gag is entertaining and gets a laugh but
also demonstrates that Alvy is fantasizing.
Another, similar, visual technique is the addition of
subtitles that contradict the onscreen dialogue as Alvy and Annie
converse on Annie’s balcony. The subtitles ostensibly offer their
respective character’s thoughts as they chat nervously. This gag
adds another layer of awareness to the scene, as well as a bit of
humor in exposing the completely unrelated thoughts that most people
have while interacting with someone they are attempting to attract.
Again, the gag serves as a way to editorialize upon the story’s
reality and also humorously point out the difference in perspective
that two people have while participating in the same conversation.
Time travel and animation are other techniques that emphasize the
fantastical aspect of Annie Hall. In several scenes,
Alvy literally revisits the past and occasionally takes companions
with him. He goes back to his childhood to defend his younger self’s
actions by explaining them in Freudian terms. He takes his friend
Rob back to a family party to prove a point about his uncle. He
tags along as Annie pulls him along her relationship timeline. All
of these moments allow Alvy and, vicariously, Allen, to return to
the past, comment on it in terms of what has happened since, and
of course slip in some self-reflective jabs at the expense of others,
often family members. The animation scene takes this fantastical
tack and pulls it in another direction, inserting the characters
into a fictional cartoon in which Annie is portrayed as the wicked
queen in Snow White and Alvy is portrayed as a
childish victim. Clearly, Alvy is psychoanalyzing the situation
too much. Other visually inventive elements in the film include
interactive split screens, sudden physical transformations (such
as when Alvy turns into a Hasidic Jew), and the sudden production
of a real-life character (Marshall McLuhan) paired with the direct-to-camera
comment “Boy, if only life were like this.” Together, these techniques
support the notion that art can and should be used to reshape life
into an easier-to-swallow, more fulfilling version of itself.
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