Movie Review: Cafe Society (2016)

Cafe Society is a 2016 rom-com directed by Woody Allen. The film stars Jessie Eisenberg, Steve Carell, Kristen Stewart, and Blake Lively and is the tale of a young man named Bobby who moves from New York to Hollywood and falls in love with a young girl named Vonnie. I'd had very high expectations for this movie. I enjoy Woody Allen and while his movies are often very light, they're considered to be some of the greatest flicks ever created. I was satisfied very much so with Cafe Society  and not only because it's your typical Woody Allen romantic farce, but because it delivers in multiple and unexpected ways. First off, from the first establishing shot we know we're going to witness a breathtakingly well shot film. This movie looks great and the cinematography really helps set the tone as it switches from a comedy about the film industry to being about a significant romance. The shots taken in the scenes between Eisenberg's character and Stewart's character are largely the best looking as they cast a very dim look upon the faces of the characters. Which leads me to my next pro which is the acting performances. This movie doesn't have one bad actor. If I were to take apart this film solely based on performances, it would receive four stars. Not only is Jessie Eisenberg fantastic as Bobby, but Steve Carell gives a very contained and interesting performance. Kristen Stewart establishes her acting very well in this movie and impressed the heck out of me. Not to mention Blake Lively who delivers an extremely welcoming role. The story about how Eisenberg's character Bobby deals with unrequited love, heartbreak, as well as multiple cases of rejection are where he starts to shine. Eisenberg not only channels a unique and original performance, but he literally is Woody Allen. I have two issues with this movie. One is that the film does slow down at parts, then speeds up quickly again, then slows down once again. It's a problem that I have with a lot of Woody Allen's films, but the quirky tone of his movies does seem to get a little overdone as an hour and a half passes by. The other issue (which I will keep silent as it's a spoiler) is how the movie ends. I thought the ending was great. Yet there is actually an opportunity a few minutes time before the end of the movie where it could have ended in a cliff-hanger. Not a bad one at that, but a stylistically chosen ending that would've been funny. Overall, Cafe Society is a good movie that showcases not only some of the best actors and actresses performances of recent times, but is an enjoyable and vividly romantic journey. Three stars