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Ask anyone what their favorite Diane Keaton movie is, and you’re guaranteed to get a different answer almost every time.
Part of that speaks to the 50-plus films the Oscar-winning actor starred in over the course of her legendary career before she died Saturday at age 79. Then again, it’s hard to name just one favorite movie starring Keaton when she charmed audiences with so many memorable performances over the years.
From her breakthrough portrayal of Kay Adams in “The Godfather” saga to her pivotal part in the beloved rom-com “Something’s Gotta Give” to her star-making turn as the titular “Annie Hall” that earned her a leading actress Oscar less than a decade into her acting career, Keaton’s many roles are as timeless as she was. It’s impossible to forget the mark she made on an industry that simply wouldn’t be the same had she never graced it.
Hence, heartfelt tributes from Hollywood and fans worldwide immediately poured in following news of Keaton’s death, many reflecting on the warm memories the prolific actor left not only on screen but off screen as well.
Filmmaker Nancy Meyers — who directed Keaton in 2003’s “Something’s Gotta Give” and also worked with her on “Baby Boom” and “Father of the Bride” — shared a touching message on Instagram in which she called her frequent collaborator and dear friend “a brilliant actress” who was “born to be a movie star.”
“As a woman, I lost a friend of almost 40 years — at times over those years, she felt like a sister because we shared so many truly memorable experiences,” wrote Meyers. “As a filmmaker, I’ve lost a connection with an actress that one can only dream of. We all search for that someone who really gets us, right? Well, with Diane, I believe we mutually had that.”
“She was fearless,” Meyers concluded, “she was like nobody ever, she was born to be a movie star, her laugh could make your day and for me, knowing her and working with her — changed my life. Thank you Di. I’ll miss you forever.”
Meanwhile, Keaton’s “Something’s Gotta Give” co-star, Keanu Reeves, spoke earnestly about the actor’s character when reflecting on their time working together. “I had the wonderful opportunity to work with her, and she was a very special artist and person,” Reeves told The Hollywood Reporter this week. “Very unique and just what a wonderful artist.”
Other tributes, of course, have referenced some of Keaton’s most iconic moments in cinema and the films that have come to define her legacy. Like her hysterical crash-out in “Baby Boom,” the 1987 comedy in which she played a career woman whose life gets turned upside down when she inherits a baby.
Or her stirring scene in “Reds,” the 1981 historical epic drama, where she famously reunites with her lover John “Jack” Reed (Warren Beatty) at the train station after the latter survives an attack by the White Army.
And who could forget Keaton’s memorable revelation in “The Godfather Part II,” where her character, Kay, tells Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone that her miscarriage was actually an abortion because she wasn’t willing to bring another one of their sons into the mobster’s violent world of crime.
There are plenty more movie moments that live on from Keaton’s work, too, from “The Family Stone” and “Marvin’s Room” to “The First Wives Club,” “Crimes of the Heart” and others.
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It’s hard to encompass all of who the late actor was in those films alone, but it’s clear that her unique charisma, wit and dramatic depth transformed every part she played.
Keaton was a force of nature who knew just how to move audiences, whether she made us laugh or cry. Her legacy will endure because of her many unforgettable characters, but even more so because of her unmistakable spirit.
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