Diane Keaton (1946-2025)

[MichaelB]

Diane Keaton.

(and former Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins, stabbed to death in prison some 13 years into a richly deserved sentence. And if people are curious as to what he did, I urge them not to read the full sentencing report, which will turn the strongest of stomachs.)

[The Curious Sofa]

To me Keaton is someone who forever managed to stay youthful and not thanks to cosmetic interventions, so that's a bit of a shock. Another one of the greats gone.

[Blutarsky]

A lot is gonna be said about her work with Allen over the coming days, but to me she is what makes The Godfather Part II superior to the original. Her scene with Pacino in the hotel room is still heartbreaking and shocking after multiple viewings. Losing some of the absolute best this year.

[colinr0380]

Also the final shot of The Godfather and that great kitchen scene in Godfather III too. Her character is really intended to be the neglected heart of those films.

[thirtyframesasecond]

Her defining moment for me (as a young boy) was directing the video for 'Heaven is a Place on Earth' by Belinda Carlisle.

[colinr0380]

Hopefully she was able to see Looking For Mr. Goodbar get returned into circulation as well. That's an excellent performance.

(And she was one of the Executive Producers on Gus Van Sant's Elephant)

[The Curious Sofa]

I read an interview with her where she she said, she was always puzzled why Coppola cast her, but she even makes The Godfather III a little better.
I must be one of the few fans of Gillian Armstrong's Mrs. Soffel (well, me and Pauline Kael, who was a great Diane Keaton fan) and I think she's tremendous in that.

[thirtyframesasecond]

It's also been a while since I saw Shoot the Moon, but that was pretty decent as I recall.

[domino harvey]

It's also been a while since I saw Shoot the Moon, but that was pretty decent as I recall.

An excellent film. Has one of the best fights between two partners I’ve ever seen in a movie, perfectly captures how a small spat can quickly escalate apocalyptically

[Beloved Aunt]

I actually recommend Baby Boom for its final 10-15 minutes or so, where DK is playing slightly bitchy courtship games with Sam Shepard's small town veterinarian. it briefly becomes a very charming and even creative movie. Diane Keaton is basically the Katharine Hepburn of her generation, complete with a sometimes "self-taught" air to some of her performances, like in Interiors. I wonder if Woody Allen will say anything? (Like, for example, "I should have married this woman.")

[domino harvey]

I was browsing her Letterboxd listing and man, she was in a lot of movies about intrusive mother in laws in her later years. Pretty sure the most recent thing I saw her in was the Young Pope where by virtue of being a nun she avoided this typecasting!

[beamish14]

It's also been a while since I saw Shoot the Moon, but that was pretty decent as I recall.

An excellent film. Has one of the best fights between two partners I’ve ever seen in a movie, perfectly captures how a small spat can quickly escalate apocalyptically

Yes, it’s an extraordinary work (although you REALLY have to suspend disbelief that a literary award would be televised in America!)

[beamish14]

I read an interview with her where she she said, she was always puzzled why Coppola cast her, but she even makes The Godfather III a little better.
I must be one of the few fans of Gillian Armstrong's Mrs. Soffel (well, me and Pauline Kael, who was a great Diane Keaton fan) and I think she's tremendous in that.

I adore Mrs. Soffel as well. Gorgeous score by Mark Isham, too

[The Curious Sofa]

It's a favourite score of mine too, I have it as part of a Mark Isham compilation.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

You have got to be kidding. Her and Lynch the same year is almost too much for me. Her comic skills always won me over but that energy in every performance was irresistible. What a loss. I haven't even watched my Mr. Goodbar disc but I did watch her episode of Twin Peaks last year. RIP

[hearthesilence]

I actually recommend Baby Boom for its final 10-15 minutes or so, where DK is playing slightly bitchy courtship games with Sam Shepard's small town veterinarian. it briefly becomes a very charming and even creative movie. Diane Keaton is basically the Katharine Hepburn of her generation, complete with a sometimes "self-taught" air to some of her performances, like in Interiors. I wonder if Woody Allen will say anything? (Like, for example, "I should have married this woman.")

I think I posted this elsewhere and it's probably in the supplements for Housekeeping (which could've easily been her best movie as an actor following Annie Hall), but when she was attached to that film, she carried a lot of clout as she was the reason it secured financing. Deep into development, she asked Forsyth why her character couldn't have a love interest "like Sam Shepard" and naturally he became incredibly anxious and concerned she was going to hurt the movie. As it happens, she decided to drop out which meant it lost all of its financing as well. Luckily, he found support at Sony during the brief window it was run by his friend and Local Hero producer David Puttnam, and Christine Lahti turned in a great career performance as well, but he had to laugh when he found out Baby Boom was the reason she left - "I guess she really wanted to do a film with Sam Shepard!"

Keaton did a lot of promotion for Elephant and even though it was clearly Van Sant's film, she basically made it happen with HBO. Here's an interview with Keaton and Van Sant where they talk about it and here's her appearance on Charlie Rose with Van Sant to discuss the film.

The Godfather Trilogy and especially Annie Hall will remain my favorite performances, but she's also the main reason why Manhattan Murder Mystery is one of Allen's most underrated films IMHO - almost a sequel to Annie Hall (if you can pretend they got back together and led different lives away from the entertainment industry), in hindsight it's kind of a comfort film for Allen after going through a brutal public scandal (one that obviously has come back with a vengeance). Just as one may gravitate towards the familiar and old friendships in a very dark time, it's arguable he does that here, and it almost feels like Keaton is there to breathe new life into him and straighten him out.

[Fiery Angel]

It's also been a while since I saw Shoot the Moon, but that was pretty decent as I recall.

An excellent film. Has one of the best fights between two partners I’ve ever seen in a movie, perfectly captures how a small spat can quickly escalate apocalyptically

The scene where she sings "If I Fell" in the bathtub is heartbreaking.

[Beloved Aunt]

Just as one may gravitate towards the familiar and old friendships in a very dark time, it's arguable he does that here, and it almost feels like Keaton is there to breathe new life into him and straighten him out.

They're so comfortable with each other, it's really beautiful. Your Housekeeping anecdote makes her sound kind of silly!

[hearthesilence]

As much as I love Housekeeping, I can also understand prioritizing doing a movie with a truly great playwright who also happens to be someone with great screen presence.

[domino harvey]

She also did Crimes of the Heart with him

[Michael Kerpan]

A sad day. Such a fine performer -- who certainly seemed to be a genuinely decent person as well. I think I had a bit of a crush on her way back in the day.

[Beloved Aunt]

Diane Keaton is/was so popular, and yet beyond Pauline Kael there seems to be variously little, or no, or not enough, institutional and critical recognition of some of her best work (Shoot the Moon, The Good Mother, Crimes of the Heart, etc.). Meanwhile I have no idea why her performance in Reds is one of her most recognized ever--she doesn't really do much if anything wrong, but her character is very badly written, shrill and the ultimate effect is not good, really drags the film down. The Best Actress category that year at the Oscars is probably one of the two or so worst ever lineups they've put together (along with 2005)--I'd definitely disqualify everyone except Susan Sarandon and begrudgingly Meryl Streep.

[HinkyDinkyTruesmith]

Her performance in Reds is justifiably recognized, although that movie is certainly not as universally acknowledged or beloved as either of her films with Coppola or her major films with Allen –– although I think it's her best film. Louise Bryant is a great character served by a vigorous performance devoid of any vanity or preciousness, and her role is the heart of the movie. Her delivery of the line "You love yourself, me you fuck!" is a sledgehammer. Shrill is an offensively misguided descriptor.

[Beloved Aunt]

Maybe I take back shrill, it's been a while, but not my overall impression of the ultimate effect of her perf (I'm not actually criticizing any perceived creative choices on the part of Keaton herself). Her part of the second half or so of the film devolves into sub-Doctor Zhivago stuff which is much less compelling than the rest of the film (which I haven't seen all of but I generally like). I'm not the only person who thinks this, at least according to Jonathan Rosenbaum.

[The Curious Sofa]

Diane Keaton is/was so popular, and yet beyond Pauline Kael there seems to be variously little, or no, or not enough, institutional and critical recognition of some of her best work (Shoot the Moon, The Good Mother, Crimes of the Heart, etc.).

Shoot the Moon, The Good Mother, and Crimes of the Heart all flopped, and great performances in underperforming films rarely receive recognition. That said, Shoot the Moon had passionate defenders at the time, was nominated for several awards, and is remembered as one of Alan Parker's best works and one of the most underrated movies of its time. It's featured in Produced and Abandoned, a compilation of reviews in which major critics choose the films they consider to be the most underrated. As far as divorce dramas go, I'd certainly pick it over Kramer vs. Kramer.