Directed and written by Woody Allen (Blue Jasmine, Midnight in Paris, Hannah and Her Sisters, Annie Hall) and starring Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network; Now You See Me; American Ultra; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), Kristen Stewart (Twilight; Snow White and the Huntsman; American Ultra; Still Alice), Blake Lively (New York, I Love You; Green Lantern; New York, I Love You) and Steve Carell (The Big Short; Foxcatcher; Hope Springs; Anchorman).
Drama, 96 mins, 6+
Following on from Irrational Man, Magic in the Moonlight, Blue Jasmine, To Rome with Love and Midnight in Paris, Cafe Society it set in the 1930s and plays homage to the golden era of Hollywood. While it doesn't hit the heights of Blue Jasmine and Midnight in Paris, Allen's latest offering doesn't let fans of his work down.
Cafe Society tells the story of Bobby (Jesse Eisenberg) who is sent from his home in New York to California where his uncle Phil (Steve Carell), a hot-shot in the movie business asa an agent to the stars, gives him a job.
While there he falls for Vonnie (Kristen Stewart), who is also having an affair with Phil, who is married. He decides to move back to New York where he works as a manager for a nightclub for his brother, a gangster, and meets Veronica (Blake Lively).
This is the setting for the drama which thrives, as all Woody Allen films do, on the script and the dialogue, with references to many of his previous films. Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart have worked together before, in American Ultra: while Cafe Society is a completely different film, the two do have on-screen chemistry and are both brillianty cast in their roles opposite each other.
A nostalgic throw-back, very entertaining, but lacking the cutting edge of Allen's best work.
