Each year a new Woody Allen movie is released and every year movielovers wonder whether this one will be worth watching as they aren’t always of the same quality. For each Midnight in Paris there is a To Rome with Love. That last movie had Jesse Eisenberg and in this movie it’s him playing the starring role. He’s Bobby, a young man without much experience who has moved from New York to Los Angeles in order to find a job.
In the Los Angeles of the thirties he doesn’t have any connections, except his uncle, Phil Stern (Steve Carell), who is the head of a big Hollywood studio. It turns out he doesn’t have much time for him and because of that Bobby starts talking to his secretary Veronica (Kristen Stewart). He falls in love, but she’s already seeing someone. The two keep in contact and after a while Bobby moves back to New York, to run a successful nightclub together with his brother. It’s a place where the rich and famous love to spend their time.
With Café Society Allen delivers a movie which moves along at a quick pace and where the story revolves mainly about relationships and the issues that happen between people. Whether that’s between Bobby and Veronica or family members, it’s central to the film. The atmosphere of the thirties is really brought to life through rich details and both Stewart and Eisenberg succeed in showing the emotional struggle their characters are going through. It might not be one of Allen’s bests, but not one you should simply skip.
I really liked this. And while I agree it is Woody Allen lite, I still found myself whisked away to the 1930s. It worked for me overall.
I loved the setting as well and the whole atmosphere, but it just didn’t hit me emotionally as much as it could have. Thus the slightly lower score.