Abstract
This piece considers the use of magic realism in the films of Woody Allen. Having explored a brief introduction to the concepts of magic realism and offered a rationalisation for not viewing Allen's work through the lens of postmodernism, this article explores how magic realism functions within his films to offer a more readily acceptable alternative to the harsh realities of life. Allen's films deal comically with the themes of life and death, with failure and success, with happiness and the impossibility of achieving it. Allen, throughout his work, from his early stand-up comedy routines to his latest films, uses magic realism to present situations in which the difficulties of reality and the complications of existence become almost palatable. Ultimately, though, however much comic relief this alternative to reality offers, it cannot be sustained and those harsh realities must be faced. These ideas are explored and evidenced through an analysis of his films from Annie Hall to Purple Rose of Cairo, Scoop and To Rome with Love.
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