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Matt Kuraska
Stylistic Devices in Annie Hall
Annie Hall, released in 1977, tells the story of Alvy Singer and Annie Hall as their
romantic relationship undergoes a roller-coaster of events. Comedian Woody Allen directed,
wrote, and starred in this film which subsequently reflects an enormous amount of his own
creativity and ideas. Not only did the movie contain his sense of humor, but he created a film
with an incredibly unique style of narration. “Like art films, many seventies films flaunt their
processes of narration.” Seventies films such as Annie Hall, “create curiosity about their modes
of narration and stimulate an interest in their stylistic devices that diverts attention from the
films’ stories. Such films develop a more self-conscious narration by intermittently
foregrounding the role of the filmmaker as the architect of the film’s style and plot patterning”
(Berliner 7). I agree with Berliner’s statement in the context of Annie Hall due to Woody Allen
consistently taking advantage of his roles as both the director and star of the film as he dictates
the direction of the plot through breaking the fourth wall, flashbacks and various visual aspects
incorporated into scenes.
One of the ways that this movie foregrounds the role of filmmaker as architect of style
and plot is how often Woody Allen’s character breaks the fourth wall and directly speaks to the
audience or reminds them of their role as viewers of an artificially manufactured world. In the
opening scene, he addresses audiences of the film in order to introduce the story. Rather than
finding this out on our own as the movie progresses, it seems that the director has come out and
immediately told us in a conversational tone. “At this point, when we do not really know the
character yet, I did not see the person speaking as Alvy Singer, but rather as Woody Allen, actor
and comedian. I believe that the narrative structure of this movie is extremely significant to its
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effect. The plot of the movie is fairly simple – two very different people meet and fall in love. It
is the odd narrative structure that makes it interesting and allows for it to become anything
special” (vassar.edu). The fact that Allen converses with viewers in between scenes creates a
unique contrast of diegesis and mimesis in Annie Hall. Also, when Alvy and Annie are waiting
in line at the movie theater, he pulls a stranger aside to settle an argument and introduces the
actual person whom they are arguing about. “Allen signals the separation between his roles as
director, screenwriter and actor through the use of scenes that alert the viewer to an exterior
manipulation of events. These tend to be the more fantastical occurrences within the film, such
as Alvy's surrealist procuring of Marshall McLuhan to win an argument in a cinema queue”
(hackwriter). He is almost simultaneously narrating a fabricated story for viewers while also
living within the story representative of real-life as actual events. This stimulates interest in the
film’s narration because audiences get an omniscient point of view from Woody Allen, while
being immersed in the world of Alvy Singer’s character.
Additionally, the unique narrative structure of the film is directly influenced by the
director’s use of flashbacks queued by Alvy’s thoughts and memories. In fact, the entire movie
can be interpreted as one flashback combined with voiceovers and narration after the opening
scene with Woody Allen’s introduction about the relationship with Annie. “Allen commits so
wholeheartedly to this experimental style that it actually makes the film feel more accessible and
personal than a traditionally linear narrative might serve” (splitshare.org). As opposed to
classical narration, Annie Hall constantly halts plot progression and brings characters and
viewers back in time to explore Alvy’s memories that most film directors would simply mention
and pass over. This is shown when we are taken back to a classroom with Alvy within a
flashback that is displayed in a relatively uncommon fashion. Viewers see Woody Allen’s
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character as both an adult and child existing in the same scene to allow for his style of narration
to continue. He explains the scene to audiences from within the room as his younger self kisses a
girl and his peers reveal their futures. Here, we are again reminded of role that Woody Allen
plays as director and narrator with information about Alvy’s old schoolmates that his fictional
character would have no knowledge of. This diverts attention away from the main storyline and
suddenly makes viewers aware that Allen is simply telling us a story in his own style of
narration.
In addition to flashbacks and breaking the fourth wall, the production team also included
various visual aspects that were uncommon or completely absent from earlier films. “Allen
makes a series of extradiegetic style choices that includes text on screen, an elaborate analog
split screen set-up, and even animation to add a personal, whimsical, fun form of expression to
what is both a fairly traditional and prototypically neurotic love story at its core” (splitsider).
Through resources such as these, Woody Allen again uses his role as omniscient storyteller and
director to expose information and set up situations that his character could never be aware of.
During the scene at Annie’s apartment, after she first meets Alvy, they have a conversation
outside on her balcony where text is displayed on the screen as they talk. However, the subtitles
are not used to translate their words between different languages, or to decipher inaudible
sentences. Rather, the subtitles display their inner thoughts and true feelings as they continue
vocally in a conversation that directly contrasts these. By using this unique stylistic device, Allen
is able to directly influence the plot by manufacturing a situation that reveals information to
audiences about the complexity of Alvy and Annie’s relationship. Later in the film, viewers get
to witness two separate scenes occurring simultaneously as both Annie and Alvy are attending
each of their therapy meetings. It is interesting to note that the sets for filming these scenes were
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purposely placed directly next to each other with a single dividing wall between them
(splitsider). This eliminated the need for post-film editing and allowed for the director to create
contrasting environments to help tell his story. Alvy Singer lies down in a recliner and stares off
to the side within a dimly-lit office while Annie sits upright staring towards the ceiling in a
bright white room with more modern decorations and furniture. Woody Allen allows audiences
to listen in on their analyst sessions as they respond to similar questions in conflicting ways. This
narrative device shows a strong contrast between the two characters at this point in their
relationship, and foreshadows them already moving in different directions. By placing the scenes
alongside one another, the director sends a stronger message to audiences rather than showing
them separately. A similar goal is achieved when the characters eat dinner at Annie’s parents’
house. Not only does Woody Allen provide another split screen perspective of how both families
would spend dinner together, but the members of the separate scenes actually interact with each
other as Annie’s mother discusses Jewish traditions with Alvy’s father. One more subtlety in
Allen’s use of visual cues in narration seems particularly stimulating for viewers. In this scene,
the production team chooses to place the camera in a sidewalk in the city. For about a full
minute, the camera does not move, but we can hear the voices of Alvy and Rob in the
background. Strangers walk past the camera as audiences are left to wonder where the characters
are that they should be focusing on. Eventually, they approach the camera and come into view
and the camera picks up and follows them. I believe this specific camera technique allows
viewers to feel they are being dropped right into the middle of a story that Allen had just recently
introduced. They are no longer passive spectators at this moment, but they get to experience the
plot of Annie Hall and feel a connection with Alvy Singer alongside him on the sidewalk.
Additionally, I perceive this has having an additional effect on the narration due to the camera
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placement. We hear voices and see multiple people in the scene, but for a while the source is left
a mystery. In this way, it seemed that Woody Allen created a feeling that Alvy Singer is a
representation of an everyday person, and his story could apply to anyone walking around the
city, or even us at our location on the sidewalk with them. In these ways, the production team of
Annie Hall used various visual aspects to enhance the narrative experience for viewers in ways
that were uncommon for previous films and stimulated audience interest in its stylistic devices.
Films in the nineteen seventies tended to gravitate toward new forms and styles of
narration, some of which were inspired by stylistic devices used in foreign art cinema. Woody
Allen was a successful comedian, writer, director, and actor that fused all of these roles together
in one film called Annie Hall in 1977 which contained several unique forms of narration. At
multiple points in the film, he breaks the fourth wall by talking directly to the audience. For
instance, Woody Allen, as director, comes forward at the start of the movie and introduces the
entire story for viewers. Later, he pauses time to settle an argument with someone in the movie
theater by bringing an outside figure into the film. These superfluous devices remind audiences
of their role as spectators. Woody Allen also uses flashbacks consistently throughout the film
which causes the narration to jump around at the whim of Alvy Singer’s thoughts and memories.
These breaks in time divert attention away from the main storyline. There were also uncommon
visual additions to the film that stimulated viewer interest in the film’s stylistic devices such as
split-screen scenes and subtitles revealing characters’ thoughts. Combined, these all created the
unique form of narration that Woody Allen manufactured in his film as director and star.
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Works cited
Becker-Parton, Brad. "'Annie Hall' and Woody Allen's Experimental Visual Film Style |
Splitsider." Splitsider. N.p., 10 July 2014. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Berliner, Todd. Hollywood Incoherent: Narration in Seventies Cinema. Austin: U of Texas,
2010. Print.
"Confronting Modernity." Confronting Modernity RSS. Vassar College, 20 Feb. 2011. Web. 13
Apr. 2015.
Cottingham, Robert. "Annie Hall to Deconstructing Harry - Robert Cottingham." A Woody
Allen Primer Part Two. N.p., July 2005. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.