Growing up watching "Annie Hall," "Midnight in Paris" and "Blue Jasmine," I always felt Woody Allen's presence and his worldly view in my life.
Allen's latest work, the film "Cafe Society," is no exception.
The film takes place in 1930s Hollywood, at the height of glamour and luxury, and follows the life of Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) as he moves away from his home in the Bronx to start a new adventure working for his uncle, Phil Stern (Steve Carrel), a high-profile producer in California. Dorfman acts as an errand boy for his uncle, and it is during this time that he falls in love with the secretary, Veronica, also known as Vonnie (Kristen Stewart).
As is typical of Woody Allen films, the love story isn't simple. A love triangle is quickly established — one that ultimately breaks Bobby's heart and sends him back home to New York, where joins his mobster older brother in owning and running an upscale night club.
The film's title references the high-society nightlife of New York in the 1930s and '40s, which is controlled by Dorfman in this particular narrative.
The second half of the film revolves around Dorfman's success and the entrance of his second love — also named Veronica (Blake Lively) — who becomes his wife. The original Veronica reappears in New York, causing Dorfman to question the choices he has made thus far in his life.
Eisenberg is the perfect choice to portray an awkwardly charming young adult trying to make his own way in a glamorous world. He exudes the same presence Allen did in "Annie Hall;" however, unlike the performance of other actors who have tried to pull this off, his feels authentic.
Carell playes a larger-than-life producer as a babbling, Type A personality that the viewer can't help but like, regardless of his character's transgressions throughout the film.
Stewart, as Vonnie, falls flat. She gives off the same impressions of apathy and indifference as she does in most of her films. While such a typecast can work for certain films, it does not resonate in one about a passionate love story at the height of Hollywood glamour.
Blake Lively is as lovely as ever; her small role, along with Dorfman's mobster older brother, Ben (Corey Stoll), steals the spotlight away from the more seasoned stars.
It may even be suggested that Lively and Stewart should have played each other's characters to make the theme of the film more believable.
Overall, "Cafe Society" was a quality film about love, loss and the continuation of life despite one's past. I certainly was not disappointed, and I'm pleased to add it to the ever-growing list of Woody Allen films that have made me stop and think.
