Directed by: Woody Allen
Written by: Woody Allen
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Steve Carell & Blake
Lively
Set in the back
drop of the glitz and glamour of the 1930’s. Tired of working a dead end job
for his father in New York, Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) contacts his
hotshot movie agent uncle Phil (Steve Carell) who reluctantly takes Bobby under
his wing and familiarises him with the Hollywood highlife. Bobby is then
introduced to the mesmerising Vonnie (Kristen Stewart), she warns from the
start that she has a boyfriend (which happens to be her employer) however helpless
Bobby falls madly in love with her. The pair develop a blossoming friendship
before lovesick Bobby returns to New York where he meets a beautiful socialite,
Veronica (Blake Lively). Things seem to be working out for Bobby until Vonnie
visits New York, rekindling Bobby’s original affections.
In typical fashion Woody Allen presents us with a nostalgic peak
of the past, Café Society is a beautifully captured picture which explores a
romanticised view of the 1930’s. Intriguingly this is Woody Allen’s first
collaboration with the cinematographer Vittorio Storaro who convinced him to
digitally capture the feature which is a first time for Allen. The golden hue
like quality makes this film an absolute delight, the audience is presented
with a number of close up shots of Kristen Stewart which are very reminiscent of
early Hollywood pictures starring the likes of Rita Hayworth or Donna Reed.
Jesse Eisenberg puts in a wonderful performance playing the awkward “deer in
the headlights” character which is seemingly the perfect platform to deliver
Woody Allen’s writing. This certainly isn’t Woody Allen’s best more recent film
and doesn’t quite meet the heights of Midnight
in Paris or Blue Jasmine. The
relationships between the characters aren’t fully explored, instead we are told
about them through Allen’s narration. Steve Carell plays the high flying
Hollywood agent well with some excellent scenes between him and Jesse Eisenberg;
that said, I couldn’t help thinking his casting in Café Society was a little ill-fitting,
perhaps because while his performance is considerable I can’t shake the image
of him having his chest hair waxed in The
40 Year Old Virgin. Putting all that aside, Woody Allen’s writing is… Woody
Allen’s writing, he sticks with familiar ‘love triangle’ themes however this
doesn’t matter at all, the story is romantic and poignant lightly peppered with
classic Woody Allen humour. Café Society is no Annie Hall but still remains a thoroughly enjoyable and absorbing
watch.
