**Spoiler Alert**
Director: Woody Allen/Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Steve Carell, Blake Lively, Corey Stoll, Sari Lennick, Ken Stott, Parker Posey and Jeannie Berlin
These days, I'm always prepared to write Woody off, particularly after his last two forgettable efforts; Magic in the Moonlight and Irrational Man. But with Woody, consigning him to oblivion is always a mistake, for he can still surprise, as with Blue Jasmine. I'm happy to say he has done so again with Cafe Society; his new story about ideal love and its emotional pitfalls. Though some scenes and plot points resemble moments from his cinematic past, he shows he can still write terrific dialogue and give his characters dimension and depth. In his latest, we see his characteristic charm, wit and his romantic pessimism about love but also present is his irrepressible romanticism, particularly for the city he loves most. Cafe Society is fun, funny and is irresistibly charming.
Set in 1930s', Woody narrates his own story about a young man; Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg), who leaves Brooklyn for the sunny coast of southern California. Hoping to find a job with his wildly successful Uncle; Phil Stern (a terrific Steve Carell) in his casting agency, he stakes out temporary digs in a hotel and waits for a meeting. Lonely and hungry for female companionship, Bobby arranges for a call girl to visit his hotel room, but finds he is her very first customer. The failed encounter yields funny results.
In another scene, we see Phil hosting a swank Hollywood party in his home. Sitting poolside, Phil talks with all manner of movie industry people, dropping names of stars in nearly all his conversations.
As the story moves forward, Woody's narration remains steady, embellishing the story and providing insightful comments about the characters. We meet others, like Bobby's older brother Ben (excellent Corey Stoll), whose life in organized crime troubles his mother Rose (Jeannie Berlin). Though Rose's relationship with her husband Marty (Ken Stott) is contentious; their arguments contain some of the film's funniest lines. Another character is Bobby and Ben's sister, Evelyn (Sari Lennick), who stays in touch with her little brother via letters, which, when read; provide the film supplementary narration.
Bobby is finally granted a few minutes with his Uncle and after a what-are-you-doing-out-here probing overture, he explains his want of a change of scenery and a job in the agency. Although Phil initially mentions the mail-room, he suggests Bobby run errands for him. He then introduces Bobby to one of his secretaries; an lovely young woman named Veronica (a luminous Kristen Stewart, made more so by soft focus), or Vonnie. As Vonnie shows Bobby around, sparks crackle and glow between them. Before long, Vonnie and Bobby enjoy lunches and drinks together until one day he feels confident enough to ask her out. She tells him she is seeing someone but enjoys his friendship, which continues in spite of his rejection. Bobby (and we) learn Vonnie is one of the many young women who migrated to Tinseltown hoping to make it in the movies before becoming disillusioned.
The conversations between Vonnie and Bobby are often magical. Woody shows he can still craft intelligent dialogue that is also pleasing to the ear. Some of the best moments in the film are Bobby and Vonnie's tete a tetes.
In time, Bobby finds himself meeting his Uncle's big name associates, who bandy the names of stars and starlets about, which becomes a source of annoyance to both he and Vonnie. But life in Hollywood has a way of working on those most resistant to its charms. Vonnie herself shares an anecdote about Samuel Goldwyn and his peculiar voice.
The visuals in the Hollywood party scenes are particularly intriguing. In nearly every scene featuring an industry soiree, we see the guests dressed uniformly in khaki-color clothes. Woody's cinematographer; the famed Vittorio Storaro, casts everything in soft, golden light, as if to compete with the soft hues of khaki. The effect leaves us with something fairy-talish; a heady foray into the unreal.
Hollywood's seductive but shallow charms begin to wear on Bobby. He finds the beautiful women, stars and the lush mansions to be a fascinating curiosity but they eventually lose their charm. He begins to miss New York. Before long, he plans his return home. But complicating his idea is his relationship with Vonnie, which takes a dramatic leap from the platonic to romantic. In love and happy, Bobby plans for their marriage and their move to New York, where his brother Ben has offered him a job running his nightclub. But before Bobby's plans are consummated, the plot takes a startling twist when Bobby discovers the man Vonnie has been seeing is none other than Phil, who plans to leave his wife for her. Phil later tells her he is unable to walk away from his 25-year marriage, only to experience yet another change of heart. The situation becomes stickier when Phil and Bobby become aware of the other's interest in Vonnie. Faced with a painful decision, Vonnie chooses Phil, leaving Bobby to return to New York, alone and crestfallen.
Bobby's east-coast homecoming serves as a transition to Part II, as he leaves his Los Angeles experiences behind for his brother's nightclub, which he helps christen The Cafe Society. Bobby becomes popular with the nightclub set, which is a colorful mix of the city's upper crust society and members of New York's active social scene. Excelling at his job and taking to the club's giddy atmosphere, Bobby is able to put Los Angeles behind him.
One evening, he meets a beautiful blonde, whose name also happens to be Veronica (Blake Lively, who was kicking shark butt the last time we saw her onscreen). I found this contrivance to be a little too convenient but oh well. The two quickly fall in love, which leads to a happy courtship and marriage; helped along with a surprise pregnancy.
Of course Woody won't let us forget Vonnie, who happens to drop back into his life one evening when she and Phil appear at the nightclub. The scene where Bobby stands before their table; staring dumbstruck at Vonnie, may remind one of the scene in Crimes and Misdemeanors where Woody's character happens upon Mia Farrow's at a wedding where she is embraced by his rival. Dismayed at seeing Phil and Vonnie together, Bobby reluctantly sits down to chat but excuses himself after she tries to regale the table with a long-winded, gossipy Hollywood story; the type he and she once loathed. It isn't long before the two meet for coffee, which reawakens their latent love for one another. One knows how it will play out if one has seen enough Woody Allen films. The key word is melancholy.
A significant subplot unfolds; involving Ben and his violent, criminal past, which has a grim but almost inevitable outcome.
Woody manages his multi-character story with aplomb and like his best work, makes us care about them. He has helped create one of the movie industry's emerging great couples in Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, whose onscreen romance marks their third together. How and why such an offbeat pairing works so well can be chalked up to the mysteries of chemistry but they are magical together; particularly in a scene where the two share an intimate moment on a Central Park bridge; the skyline a romantic tableau. Woody's other characters are wonderful, particularly Corey Stoll as Bobby's thuggish brother and Jeannie Berlin, who is quite amusing as Bobby's mother.
Woody still has it. He is still capable of making good films. Everything that characterizes his best films is conspicuous here. Terrific camera work, beautiful cinematography and brilliant performances. Let's not forget witty dialogue and great lines. My favorite: live every day as if it were the last and one day it will be true.
Cafe Society isn't a Woody masterpiece but it redeems his last two efforts and it is done well. It might not set the world of cinema alight but it is a mild intoxicant. In summers, bad Hollywood is the occupying force, but films like Woody's always come along to give us respite from the drek. Let's hope he has more of these films in his bag.
