CAFÉ SOCIETY – Review

Woody Allen narrates CAFÉ SOCIETY, his 47^th film and at age 80, his voice is sounding sadly geezerish.  Set in the mid-1930’s, CAFÉ SOCIETY has a cool period soundtrack, an older man courting a much younger woman, a Jewish family kibitzing around the dinner table, quotable dialog on love and life, and a neurotic Jewish hero channeling a much younger Woody. In other words, all the elements of a great Woody Allen film. It also has Vittorio Storaro’s rapturous cinematography (a Woody first) and a terrific and complex central performance from Jesse Eisenberg. CAFÉ SOCIETY is the most romantic Woody since ANNIE HALL and one of his best.

Leaving his (very) Jewish family back in the Bronx, young Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) heads west to “learn the movie business” from his Uncle Phil (Steve Carell), a bigtime Hollywood talent agent. Phil assigns his captivating, but romantically unavailable, secretary Vonnie (Kristen Stewart) the job of showing his nephew around town. A disillusioned wannabe actress from Nebraska, Vonnie enjoys taking Bobby to Barbara Stanwyck movies and on a tour of movie star’s homes (actually just their front yards). Bobby falls hard for Vonnie, but soon discovers she’s having an affair with married Uncle Phil. Around CAFÉ SOCIETY’s 40-minute mark, the story moves, along with a heartbroken Bobby, home to the Bronx. There we get to know his unruly family – joyless dad Marty (Ken Stott), strident mom Rose (Jeannie Berlin), sister Evelyn (Sari Lennick) who’s married to Leonard (Stephen Kunken), a proud but depressed Communist, and charismatic older brother Ben (Corey Stoll), a hotheaded gangster who’s opening a nightclub. Bobby finds success managing Ben’s popular business, which soon becomes a hot spot for the Café Society of NYC. Years pass, Bobby takes a beautiful bride named Veronica (Blake Lively), and has a couple of kids, but his heart still belongs to Vonnie, who is destined to re-enter his life.

Woody Allen has delivered his impressive movie-a-year gift for so long now that we fans are accused of declaring “one of Woody’s best!” far too often, but CAFÉ SOCIETY really is! It’s his most visually polished film ever. Storaro’s digital photography (Allen has always shot on film) gives CAFÉ SOCIETY a luminous golden-hued atmosphere no Woody film has achieved. His evocation of ‘30s Hollywood seems authentic thanks to Santo Loquasto’s meticulous production design and Suzy Benzinger’s perfect period costuming.

Allen’s script constantly name-drops Hollywood stars of the period (“Adolph Menjou is threatening to walk off the set!”), but that’s a tease. Unlike the Coen Brother’s HAIL CAESAR from earlier this year (which on the surface covers some of the same ground), the movie stars never actually materialize in CAFÉ SOCIETY as Woody wisely keeps the story focused on the love triangle.

No director works better with actors than Woody Allen (has anyone else directed seven Oscar-winning performances?) and CAFÉ SOCIETY is no exception. It’s Jesse Eisenberg’s second Woody (he was part of the TO ROME WITH LOVE ensemble) but the first he’s had to carry. His Bobby Dorfman is at the center of almost every scene as the Woody Allen surrogate, a tricky challenge which can be a disaster if done poorly (Kenneth Branagh’s lazy parroting in CELEBRITY) and sincere when done well (my fave is Larry David in WHATEVER WORKS), but Eisenberg proves up to the challenge. In an early scene the virgin Bobby hires a hooker (Anna Camp) who herself has never turned a trick. It’s a lengthy, sharply-written scene and in it the actor mimics Woody’s tics and mannerisms. I rolled my eyes and confess to have brought a personal bias against Eisenberg. I’ve never been sold on his fussy anti-charisma and his Lex Luthor was the worst element of the recent BATMAN VS SUPERMAN (and that’s saying a lot!), but a fascinating thing happens as CAFÉ SOCIETY progresses. As Bobby grows and matures, the nebbish-ness melts away convincingly and he becomes his own, more naturally confident character (Woody shoots his films sequentially and deserves some of the credit). By the time the film was over, I could not imagine another actor as Bobby. The wonderful Jeannie Berlin (whose Lila in THE HEARTBREAK KID is one of the great comic creations of the ‘70s) as momma Rose gets the funniest lines including a gutbuster that ends with the phrase “What have I done to deserve this?!”. Berlin is such a natural in the Woody universe, you wonder why he’s never cast her before (though he did use her mother Elaine May hilariously in SMALL TIME CROOKS). Sari Lennick (who has a great face I immediately recognized from the Coen Brother’s A SERIOUS MAN where she played Michael Stuhlbarg’s wife) is also a standout as Bobby’s sister Evelyn. She gets her own subplot (the only scenes sans Bobby) where she regrets asking her mobster brother Ben to intervene in a feud with a hostile neighbor. It’s a tangent that has nothing to do with Bobby’s story but I’m glad it’s there as it allows Woody to revisit one of his favorite themes: the ethics of guilt and murder he’s presented with such substance in CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS, MATCH POINT, and last year’s IRRATIONAL MAN. Corey Stoll is priceless as one of the most likeable cold-blooded murderers you’d want to meet while a couple of bloody gangland killings are a bit shocking to see in a Woody Allen film. Steve Carell and Blake Lively are fine in less colorful roles. End-of-year Oscar buzz may swirl around Kristen Stewart and for good reason. Like Bobby, you miss Vonnie when she’s not on screen and her spirit is at the center of CAFÉ SOCIETY’s perfect, melancholy final shot. I don’t know how many films Woody Allen has left in him so savor and celebrate while you can something as perfect as CAFÉ SOCIETY. Did I mention that it’s one of Woody’s best?

5 of 5 Stars

CAFÉ SOCIETY opens in St. Louis July 28th at, among other places, The Hi-Pointe Theater