Annie Hall movie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Annie Hall movie - Essay Example While the film presents some beautiful and tender moments between the couple, these are set against a contextual backdrop that suggests a breakup. The film commences on a nostalgic note, where Alvy is thinking about his relationship with Annie, the relationship that almost was. He muses, â€Å"I keep sifting through the pieces of the relationship through my mind, and examining my life and trying to figure out where did the screw up come?† (Annie Hall). Yet, this nostalgia is also intertwined with an underlying element of cynicism, because we know at the outset what the outcome of the relationship was – it ended in a break-up. Revealing the outcome at the very beginning of the film helps to set the foreground of the narrative and direct the conception of the audience towards the meaning of the film. It sets up the central question to be addressed in the film – why did the relationship between Annie and Alvy end? The nostalgic question posed by Alvy at the very beg inning of the film is followed by a stand up comedy routine, adopting an ironic, self reflexive tone that successfully reflects a combination of nostalgia and cynicism. One of the means employed in the film to distinguish the relationship of Alvy and Annie from the rest of the events occurring in the film is through the use of contrasts. An associative, metaphorical sequencing through stand up comedy segments is used at the beginning of the film, whereas a conventional, sequential narrative structure is used for the scenes dealing with Annie and Alvy’s meeting and courtship.