Ua free woman, on and off the set. Diane Keatonwho passed away on October 11 at the age of 79, was much more than an actress: an icon of freedom and non-conformismcapable of rewriting the rules of Hollywood with his androgynous charm, his irony and his charisma. Allergic to the aesthetic and social diktats of the film industryembodied an idea of independent beauty, unique, authentic. Love was the red thread of his career: from Me and Annie by Woody Allen a Ruth & Alex, the actress has always played strong, curious, passionate women, lovers of life even before a man, but always in love. Yet, behind those unforgettable characters, Diane Keaton has never been a hopeless romantic. Or maybe yes, but in his own way.
Diane Keaton: «No, I don’t want to be a wife»
Diane Keaton he never saw marriage as a goal. Daughter of a strong mother and an often absent father, she learned early on defend and enhance one’s independence. “Maybe that’s why I’ve never felt the need to get married,” he confided to People in 2019. «I remember in high school a boy told me: “One day you will be a good wife”. And I thought: “No, I don’t want to be a wife”». Despite the relationships with Woody Allen, Al Pacino and Warren Beatty, Diane never married. Only later, at fifty years old, did the actress decide to adopt two sons, Dexter and Duke.
Diane Keaton and the modern woman on the big screen
Diane Keaton he embodied femininity outside the box, on set and off set. In Me and Annie by Woody Allen — which earned her the Oscar in 1978 — with wide trousers, tie and tennis racket in his bag, he rewrote the image of the modern woman. In 1996, with The First Wives Clubbecame symbol of emancipation for a generation of women who no longer wanted to be “the wife of…”. Telling the story of three middle-aged women, abandoned and betrayed by their husbands, who join forces to take revenge, Diane — along with Bette Midler and Goldie Hawn — questioned traditional roles, criticized patriarchy and celebrated the power of sisterhood.
Diane Keaton’s never-uttered “yes”: Al Pacino
Diane Keaton would have made an exception. For whom? For the great love of his life, Al Pacino. The two actors met in 1971 on the set of The Godfather: he was Michael Corleoneher Kay Adamshis wife. Love blossomed immediately even off the set: intense, complex and profound. For over fifteen years they loved each other, broke up and found each other again, until 1987, when everything finally ended. At a certain point, Diane presented him with a clear choice: “Either we get married, or that’s it.” But Al Pacino he chose to leave. Today, after the death of the actress, the actor — 85 years old, four children and a legendary career — he admits biggest regret: not having married her. “Looking back, Al says the love of his life was always Diane,” a friend revealed to al Daily Mail. “He considered her an extraordinary woman and will forever regret not taking that step.”
An eternal love, even without a ring
Al Pacino, today, remains the man who loved Diane Keaton more than anyone else, even without the ring. Perhaps, like in a film that both could have starred in, their love was perfect precisely because it was imperfect. And as you would suggest Woody Allenlove is also a question of timing. «A few days ago the world was a place where Diane Keaton was. Now it’s a place without her”, wrote the director to remember the actress with a long article on The Free Press. «A terrible world, even if we still have his films. And his laughter that never stops echoing.”
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