Opinion Diane Keaton’s awkward, vulnerable, human characters changed how women are seen on screen

Keaton showed her range very early in her career, from her role in Lovers and Other Strangers as a wife who is unhappy with her marriage, to The Godfather trilogy, where she portrays Kay Adams-Corleone — a role often seen as more reserved, which carried moral weight and emotional conflict, acting as the conscience in a story dominated by power, crime and male aggression. But it was in her work with Woody Allen that she truly began to reshape what leading women in Hollywood could look like. In Annie Hall (1977), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, she portrays a character whose awkwardness, intellect, style obsession and emotional honesty make her feel like a real person living through confusion and self-discovery.

Part of what set her apart was her style – both in acting and aesthetic. Her characters are often formally imperfect: They stammer, blush, fumble and are sometimes dishevelled. She turned what Hollywood often treats as weaknesses into strengths. Her fashion became an outward sign of this: The oversized jackets, menswear-inspired clothes, hats and shirts with ties weren’t simply costuming but expressions of the character’s internal life. The lookbook from Annie Hall helped redefine how audiences thought about women’s fashion and about how women could present themselves.

Her parts in films like Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) and Reds (1981) were more intricate and focussed more on internal conflicts, identity and loss. In Shoot the Moon (1982) she essayed the role of Faith Dunlap, who is caught in a collapsing marriage; in Marvin’s Room (1996), she embodied both the strength and the frailty in family ties. Her dramatic roles were a testament to her acting prowess and her versatility. These roles showed that her comedic gifts were only part of her abundant talent, thus deepening her legacy.

Her ease with comedy is equally important. In Baby Boom (1987) she plays a high-powered executive suddenly thrown into domestic chaos. She strikes a balance: Funny without caricature, serious without doom. In Father of the Bride (1991) and The First Wives Club (1996), she anchored ensemble comedies with warmth and comic timing, showing again that she could be both the emotional backbone and the source of humour. Later, Something’s Gotta Give (2003) allowed her to upend the often youth-obsessed romantic narrative. As a woman in middle age finding love again, Keaton proved that romantic longing and emotional risk do not expire with youth.

Keaton’s contribution behind the camera as a director showed that she was not content merely being the performer on the screen; she had the vision and curiosity to forge her own path. Her projects like Unstrung Heroes (1995) and Heaven (1987), the latter being a documentary-style work, reveal her interest in human experiences in all their oddness, in questions of belief and mortality. She challenged the roles that were available for women both on and off the camera.

Keaton’s legacy will rest on this: She changed expectations. She proved that audiences not only accept but embrace characters that are off-balance, emotionally messy and real. She proved that leading roles for women do not need to stick to youth or stereotypes, that maturity can be a source of richness, not limitation. In a business that often seeks the safe or familiar, Keaton was consistently a reminder that the more human, the more flawed, can also be the more powerful. Her work stands out not because of perfection, but because of authenticity — and that difference will echo long after her final act.

anusree.kc@expressindia.com