Discover Diane Keaton’s top 10 films, ranked from her most iconic comedic turns to her most heartfelt dramatic roles. A tribute to her legacy in performance following her recent passing.
With a career spanning over five decades, Diane Keaton has gifted cinema with unforgettable performances that continue to captivate audiences around the world. In light of her recent passing, it feels especially important to celebrate her artistry – the roles that defined her, the movies that shaped her legacy.
From her breakthrough moments in classic comedies to her dramatic turns that challenged and inspired, this list ranks Diane Keaton’s ten most outstanding films. Whether you’re a longtime fan or newly interested in her work, join us as we revisit the performances that made her a cultural icon.
10. Shoot the Moon (1982)
Some performances feel lived in – not acted – and Shoot the Moon gives Diane Keaton one of her richest emotional playgrounds. As Faith Dunlap, she navigates the quiet wreckage of a failing marriage with an honesty that’s both painful and mesmerizing. Every argument, every glance across the dinner table feels real enough to sting. It’s the kind of drama that doesn’t need explosions to break your heart; it just needs Keaton’s eyes doing all the work. Director Alan Parker lets her breathe in the chaos, and the result is one of her most underrated turns.
9. Play It Again, Sam (1972)
Before she became a full-blown star, Keaton brought her offbeat charm to Play It Again, Sam – a romantic comedy where she somehow outshines the script’s neurotic self-importance. She plays Linda Christie, the woman caught in the orbit of a man trying to live by old Hollywood’s rules of love. It’s a funny, slightly awkward movie that gets its spark from Keaton’s warmth and timing. She turns what could’ve been another ‘70s romantic trope into something self-aware and quietly modern. The film hasn’t aged perfectly, but her performance reminds you why audiences fell for her in the first place.
8. Love and Death (1975)
In this gleefully absurd Russian parody, Keaton proves she can do slapstick and philosophy in the same breath. As Sonja, she’s witty, ironic, and just a bit chaotic – the perfect partner in a film that pokes fun at intellectual pretension. Even when the humor wanders into surreal territory, she keeps it grounded with her quicksilver delivery. Watching her in scenes about love, war, and morality is like watching someone juggle ideas and punchlines at once. The movie’s satire might not be everyone’s taste today, but her comic precision makes it timeless.
7. Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)
Diane Keaton’s dive into the nightlife of Looking for Mr. Goodbar was nothing short of fearless. She plays Theresa Dunn, a woman searching for freedom, identity, and connection – only to find danger lurking in the same spaces that promise liberation. Keaton strips away her usual quirkiness and delivers a performance that’s sharp, complicated, and haunting. It’s not a comforting film; it’s one that stays with you because it refuses to moralize or simplify. Even decades later, Theresa’s journey feels unsettlingly current, and Keaton’s portrayal remains one of her most daring.
6. Reds (1981)
Epic doesn’t even begin to describe Reds, a historical drama that somehow manages to stay emotionally intimate thanks to Keaton’s power as Louise Bryant. She plays a woman fighting for her ideals while struggling to define herself outside of the men and movements around her. It’s a sweeping performance – intellectual and deeply human all at once. Amid the film’s massive production, Keaton finds the small, tender moments that make it breathe. It’s proof that she could hold her own in a film bursting with ambition, politics, and history.
5. Something’s Gotta Give (2003)
It’s impossible to resist the charm when Diane Keaton plays Erica Barry – an established playwright who’s got her routines, her beach house, and then along comes chaos disguised as Jack Nicholson’s character. The movie leans into the “later-in-life romance” idea in all the best ways: witty banter, understated vulnerability, and a realization that hearts don’t retire. Keaton glows in scenes where she’s both exasperated and hopeful, showing us love isn’t only for the young and reckless. Nancy Meyers’ direction gives space to subtler emotional beats, and Keaton nails them with her trademark mix of warmth and steel. It isn’t lightweight fluff; under the romance there’s a lovely meditation on aging, risk, and owning one’s life.
4. Manhattan (1979)
New York, black & white, morning light, jazz music – Manhattan almost feels like a love letter to the city, and Keaton is a big reason it’s heartfelt rather than just aesthetic. Her chemistry with her co-star is electric, and she brings a combination of sophistication and uncertainty to her role that anchors the film among its more indulgent moments. Though the film has aspects that haven’t aged neatly, Keaton’s performance still holds up: scenes of longing, moral questioning, and casual heartbreak resonate. She has this ability to be both luminous and deeply human, so that when she’s hurt or hopeful, you feel it. The emotional texture she creates contrasts beautifully with the grandeur of the cityscapes, which otherwise might overwhelm.
3. Annie Hall (1977)
Quiet revolution in rom-com form: Annie Hall rewrote expectations, and Diane Keaton’s Annie is central to why it works. Not just funny, but real – she’s awkward, she’s dreamy, she’s vulnerable, she questions herself, and yet she resists being defined by what others expect. The film plays with structure (flashbacks, breaking the fourth wall) but Keaton makes Annie feel alive in every experimental twist. Her wardrobe, demeanor, speech rhythms – they set off a wave of influence that goes beyond film lovers into fashion and culture. Watching those conversations, arguments, and reconciliations, you see someone trying to figure out love, identity, and self-worth. The ending may not tie everything neatly, but Keaton’s performance gives it weight and honest ambiguity.
2. The Godfather Part II (1974)
Epic, sprawling, brutal: The Godfather Part II expands the Corleone myth with layered storytelling, and Keaton as Kay Corleone holds her own in an almost entirely male-dominated saga. There’s vulnerability in her role, but also growing disillusionment: seeing power, betrayal, legacy, and finding none of it truly clean or moral. Her arc offers a crucial counterpoint to Michael Corleone’s increasing darkness, reminding us of what’s lost when ambition eclipses humanity. The contrast between public loyalty and private despair gets explored in her lines, her silences, her face during those family confrontations. It’s hard to find a large-scale crime epic that gives its women significant emotional weight; this one does.
1. The Godfather (1972)
Sitting at the top feels right: The Godfather is a masterpiece of mood, power dynamics, and tragedy, and Keaton’s Kay Adams introduces a moral compass and a human heart to a world of crime and loyalty. Early in the film, she’s somewhat peripheral but her presence becomes louder as the story progresses – not by louder speeches, but by the sheer force of what she represents. The tension between being married to Michael and what she sees his actions becoming ripples into her decisions and regrets; you believe every moment of fear, love, hope, disappointment. Her subtle resistance and her moments of confrontation get more powerful in a movie you assume is about men, because it’s also about what’s at stake for those who carry hope inside corruption. It’s not just a gangster story – through Kay, Keaton ensures it’s a family story too.