Shalini Langer writes in her article. Diane Keaton ‘s character described herself in her favorite movie, Something ‘s Gotta Give’. Fitting for her.
The 79 year old actor died last Sunday morning. A woman who never gave in to any Hollywood norms. Sporting men ‘s suits , waistcoats & bowler hats on the red carpet. She spoke openly about her struggles with bulimia in her 20s, rose above size by overwhelming & undermining it.
She showed that leading men could be ‘kooky’ so could they, she wore her dress just a bit crooked& her tie half tucked. She looked every inch a natural. Her charm was that one could identify with her. She was just your friendly neighbor or a relative.
She rose to fame with ‘Godfather’ with shattered face marks but her later works brought her awards for stage & screen. Choosing not to get married, who lived till her 70s. A rarity again.
Woody Allen said, ‘unlike anyone the planet has experienced or is likely to ever see again’ He directed & starred in ‘Annie Hall’ with her knew better than anyone else. Being the soulmate of that immortal Keaton character who, unlike her , has strived to hold on to it’s spirit.
Meryl Streep describes her portrayal of Annie Hall as that of a ‘humming bird’, so small & so hard to pin down, yet so hard to miss.
Keaton was an accessible imperfection. Her memoir ‘Let’s just say it was n ‘t pretty’ is dedicated to ‘all the women who can ‘t get to right without being wrong ‘, with Keaton talking about being ‘inept, inexact, imprecise’ & mangling her sentences when growing up.
“Why try to appeal to everyone ?” was her calling card. She wrote a book with Ralph Lauren ‘Fashion First’ . In a chapter, she says, ‘ If I were to describe my so-called ‘street style’, I would say GET RID OF MY ENTIRE BODY, including my eyes, nose, mouth & all of my legs & the rest of me. Sadly, I need my mouth & a nose to live & breathe, but that does n ‘t mean I need to show them off’.
An actress who will be remembered for ever.
Asian Entertainment 