ANNIE HALL (1977)Like ordering butter chicken at an Indian
restaurant,Annie Halloffers a gateway into the world of Diane
Keaton. She plays the titular character: a photographer and
struggling nightclub singer who dates Woody Allen’s Alvy Singer,
a New York comedian. (Despite Allen’s involvement, it would be a
crime to overlook her iconic performance in this film.) We follow
the pair’s tumultuous relationship, supposedly loosely based on
their real-life romance. Here, Diane steps deep into Manic Pixie
Dream Girl territory, with Annie responsible for bringing joy to her
deeply cynical boyfriend, who rarely stops to take a breath between
complaints. Thankfully, she escapes his overbearing clutches,
finding freedom in Los Angeles with a free-spirited music producer.
This role scored Diane an Oscar in 1978, and a place on fashion
inspiration lists till the end of time.
...................FATHER OF THE BRIDE (1991)To be honest, this film should
be called ‘Mother of the Bride’, based solely on Diane Keaton’s
performance as the level-headed Nina Banks. In the lead-up to a
wedding, generally logical and polite people can transform into an
unrecognisable version of themselves – someone who’ll fork over
an outrageous fee to learn the foxtrot, even though they had no urge
before and will never dance it again. Tensions are high, and it’s the
mum who often steps in to provide a much-needed sense of calm.
InFather of the Bride, Nina finds herself caught between her newly
engaged daughter Annie and hesitant husband George (Steve Martin).
She is stoic and charismatic, with an uncanny ability to remain
composed amid chaos – even when George offers to host the wedding
at their home and she finds swans in her bathtub. Impressive.
...................THE GODFATHER TRILOGY (1972-1990)Diane Keaton shifts gears
from comedy to drama with more ease than an experienced Daytona
race car driver. In theGodfathertrilogy, we see some of her most
dramatic work as Kay Adams-Corleone, the wife ofMafiosoDon
Michael Corleone. The pair meet while studying at Dartmouth
College – Kay is educated, independent and represents an honest life
that Michael yearns for. When they marry, however, Kay unwillingly
becomes embroiled in her husband’s criminal activities. Despite her
fear of Michael, Kay is the only person in the trilogy that stands up
to him, and lives to tell the tale. She’s mistreated, abused and has
her children whipped away, yet remains a fiercely supportive mother
and empowered woman who fights for her beliefs in dangerous,
unpredictable circumstances. She gives strength to women who have
faced adversity, and has the courage to make her own choices.
Diane Keaton shines in this role as an unlikely mafia matriarch.
...................MANHATTAN (1979)Imagine if you could see what happens to a
character once a movie ends. Was stress-driving to the airport
in peak hour traffic, double-parking in the drop-off zone with the
ignition left on, then hurdling over the customs security barricade
to enter your lover’s arms before they board their plane worth it?
Most of the time we don’t find out, because an upbeat Natalie Cole
song is cued and the film credits start rolling. But inManhattan,we
come close to seeing what may have become of Diane Keaton’s
AnnieHall. Unfortunately, it’s a particularly objectionable tale fromWoody Allen, but you can’t ignore Diane’s performance as the
self-assured, educated and astute journalist Mary Wilkie. Where
Anniewas flighty and innocent, Mary is confident and direct. Jaded
by her divorce, she adopts a no-holds-barred attitude, and is finally
a woman who puts herself before the men in her life....................
SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE (2003) Always befriend people
who have beach houses, especially if said beach house is located
in the Hamptons. In Something’s Gotta Give, Erica Barry (Diane
Keaton) is the epitome of Hamptons chic in a non-threatening,
I-aspire-to-be-you-when-I-hit-middle-age kind of way. She’s a
divorced, successful playwright who purchased her own weekender
by the sea, where she buys organic produce and preserved goods
with three-syllable names. It’s all very serene and enviable, until her
late-20s daughter Marin unexpectedly visits with her 60-something
boyfriend Harry (Jack Nicholson). He suffers a heart attack in the
middle of some hanky-panky and, awkwardly, Erica must come to
the rescue, allowing him to bunk in until his ticker’s back on track.
This is the classic tale of opposites attracting, and word has it
Diane’s acting was so convincing on set that Jack Nicholson began
to believe she actually was in love with him. Sucker....................
MARVIN’S ROOM (1996) Humans cry three types of tears: ‘basal’
and ‘reflex’ tears, which lubricate and clean the eye, and ‘psychic’
tears when we’re feeling emotional. In this film, Diane Keaton
triggers a downpour of the psychic kind. Watching her play
Bessie Wakefield evokes deep feelings about family wounds and
our impending mortality. Having spent much of her adult life looking
after her invalid father and elderly aunt – while her sister Lee (Meryl
Streep) shirks responsibility across the country – Bessie is diagnosed
with leukaemia and told she needs a bone marrow transplant to
survive. She reaches out to her estranged sister for the first time in
20 years, hoping she or one of her sons might be a potential donor.
Even as her health deteriorates, Bessie continues to look after her
family with humility, empathy and humour, while offering Lee and
her troubled son Hank (Leonardo DiCaprio) respite and hope for
the future. See, the psychic tears are coming already....................
THE FIRST WIVES CLUB (1996) In the Diane Keaton universe –
a place where white linen reigns supreme and magically never
creases – there are a lot of Annies. In The First Wives Club, Annie
MacDuggan Paradis is a former advertising executive who put her
career on hold to be a doting housewife. But her self-esteem is
shattered when she discovers her husband is having an affair with
their couple’s therapist. Broken-hearted, she and two old college
friends, Brenda (Bette Midler) and Elise (Goldie Hawn) – who have
also been burnt by dodgy ex-husbands – vow to get back at them
for their sucky treatment. They start the First Wives Club; begin to
reclaim their lives; and reignite their dormant identities. Through this
Annie, we learn that we’ve got to find happiness in ourselves before
we go searching for it in others. (Also, that wearing matching outfits
and lip-synching with your besties is a helluva lot of fun.)...................
REDS (1981) What is 195 minutes in hours? Pause, ponder, then
gasp: it’s 3 hours and 15 minutes. That is the length of Warren
Beatty’s epic historical drama Reds, but don’t stress, because with
Diane Keaton on screen for much of the film, this is I-have-nowhere-
to-be viewing at its finest. In the largely non-fictional flick, Diane
plays Louise Bryant – a socialite who leaves behind her life of excess
to become a radical political journalist covering the Bolshevik rise
during the Russian Revolution. Her character undergoes huge
personal transformation after meeting writer John Reed (Warren
Beatty) and being inspired by his idealism to change the world.
Louise discovers she must write, and through her writing becomes
a feminist, travelling to Russia to support and report the revolution
on the ground. She juggles her impassioned career with her equally
impassioned love life, and finds solace in both John Reed and
playwright Eugene O’Neill (Jack Nicholson). Bonus points go to Diane
for her brazen sass in this role, plus her rad collection of hats.the diane keaton
fan club
LISA MARIE CORSO LOOKS BACK
ON THE LEADING LADY’S MOST
NOTABLE FLICKS.
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