New York Landscape
The New York City landscape features as a prominent and consistent example of imagery throughout Annie Hall. Alvy Singer's character finds home in the city that mirrors his neuroses, the urban landscape acts as a third character supporting the burgeoning relationship between Alvy and Annie. Their first undistracted conversation appears atop a picturesque loft in the midst of towering skyscrapers. On a bench in the Central Park Zoo, they are seen making witty quips about the patrons and passersby. The iconic "I Luurve You" scene takes place in the shadow of one of the most recognizable NYC structures: the Brooklyn Bridge.
Streets and Roads
The vast majority of Annie Hall takes place on the streets of New York in Alvy's conversations with Annie, Rob, and even total strangers. The streets exemplify Alvy's frustrated need to connect and his constant search for an avenue to do so. They also depict a contrast between him and Rob and Annie, who use them as ways to escape the city. Rob is seen on the 17-mile drive out in California while Annie uses them to escape the city out into the seaside retreat featured in the famous "Lobster Scene".
Driving
In Annie Hall, Driving serves as a visual example of embracing agency over one's life. Alvy's inability to drive and general discomfort as a passenger depicts his need for total control. In their first scene alone together, Annie drives erratically while Alvy frets over the direction of the car, later remarking that Annie was the "worst driver [hes] ever seen in his life", this introduces Annie's free spirit and lack of direction. Similarly, during their visit to Wisconsin to see Annie's family, Alvy's short albeit disturbing conversation with Annie's brother Dwayne (played by Christopher Walken), describes his impulse while driving to steer into oncoming traffic, further disconcerting Alvy in their later drive to the airport.
Books
Literature and the numerous references to it throughout the movie serve to further distinguish Alvy's neurotic fear-driven pessimism from Annie's innocent, yearning optimism. In his first trip to Annie's apartment, he picks up a copy of Sylvia Plath's collection of poems, Ariel, and remarks about how her "suicide is often misinterpreted as romantic by the college-girl mentality" to which Annie replies "some of her poems seem neat", depicting their vastly different perspectives in a seemingly harmless way. Later, in the bookstore, Alvy attempts to get Annie to read a selection of books about death, explaining that he is "obsessed with death". After their breakup, they are seen dividing their belongings, most prominently their books; Annie then states "All the books about death are yours and all the poetry books are mine" further delineating this dichotomy. Alvy picks up a copy of one of the first books he bought her, also about death, to which Annie replies that giving it back to him would be a "great weight off [her] back", further exemplifying the suffocating nature of their relationship.
