Annie Hall

Throughout the film Annie Hall, Alvy fails (often with comedic effect) at nearly all his relationships. That being said, his relationship with Annie was most unlike the others since although it ended, it had a positive effect on each character.

Alvy's first relationship with his wife Susan was notable because though his wife Susan was very passionate in their relationship Alvy received no pleasure from any of it. They clearly liked one another, shown initially through their conversation before one of Alvy's stand-up routine. Their relationship was healthy, they slept together, laughed, but it fizzled out due to something that Alvy didn't understand.

His second relationship was cold and quick, with a snobbishly intelligent woman that more or less was the opposite of Alvy's first relationship. The end to this relationship was not his fault, and it was clearly for the better.

Alvy's relationship with Annie however is where his understanding of relationships takes form. His relationship with Annie is very real, as seen in their hilarious moment in the kitchen with the lobsters. Alvy had never been acting or laughing like that with another one of his partners, and it was in stark contrast to his usually morose self.  Additionally, their relationship was the first to be shown to have it's ups and downs during it's duration. Alvy's other relationships ended when the relationship had a downward trend, whilst his relationship with Annie continued, either because they got over something or they simply ignored it. Either way, the point was that they tried to keep it going for each other.

At the end of Alvy's relationship with Annie, the first real breakup was mutual. They were on a plane, and both of them decided to end the relationship for the benefit of the other. Though Alvy did have his doubts and tried to rekindle the relationship with a marriage proposal, he still accepted the mutual end to their time together. This was reflected at the end, where Alvy realized what went wrong: Nothing. Relationships come and go, and as he put it, they're crazy but essential.