Movie Review: 'Cafe Society'

Despite Woody Allen’s questionable decisions within his personal life, he seems to know the right choices to make in his movies, and "Cafe Society" is no exception. As he often does, Allen captures what it is to be human and brings his audience in, making them feel as if they are there in the 1930’s watching these events unfold.

Met with a stunning color palette and adorable costumes, the film takes place in the cities of New York and Los Angeles. Big shot Phil Stern (Steve Carell) first introduces the themes of superficiality and classism with his dialogue between Hollywood starlets and a phone call with his sister living in New York. Stern’s sister tells him that she will be sending over her son Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) who is tired of living in the crowded house and wants to experience sunny California. Stern promises his sister he will give Dorfman a job and quickly ends the obviously inconvenient phone call. The first scene alone sets a fast-pace Hollywood feel that continues throughout the movie as Dorfman struggles for weeks just to get in touch with his uncle. When he finally does, he is introduced to Stern’s secretary, Vonnie (Kristen Stewart) and falls head over heels for her.

These two characters are quite interesting, for it seems that both Stewart and Eisenberg are out of their domain. Vonnie is radiant and claims to have a disinterest in the glamorous lives of Hollywood stars and more of a passion for the simple things. Quite a change from Stewart’s usual “troubled teen” who enjoys the dark and doesn’t know who she is. Eisenberg as well plays a character who is interested in love and learning and is nothing like the “serious and stern” roles he usually portrays. The two hit it off, but eventually Vonnie rejects Dorfman and the heartbroken lover returns to New York to run a nightclub with his gangster brother, Ben (Corey Stoll).

As the nightclub becomes increasingly popular, Dorfman settles down with a beautiful woman named Veronica (Blake Lively) and has a child. As all seems to be going well in Dorfman’s life, Vonnie once again steps into his world. The movie then just ends, without much of a resolution. But, instead of being unsatisfying as most unresolved endings are, it keeps the audience with the feeling of humanity. The movie ends as most things throughout life do.

As I thoroughly enjoyed almost every aspect of this movie, I found one thing quite surprising. I did not feel any sympathy for the lost lovers Vonnie and Bobby Dorfman. As most movies would make you feel a burning desire for two obvious soulmates to rekindle an old flame, this movie does just the opposite. By the end of it I did not want Vonnie to have anything to do with Dorfman’s life, and it frustrated me to know that Dorfman would never get over her, especially now that he was married to Blake-freaking-Lively. This feeling, however, only intensified the sense of human life that Allen created. The movie moved so smoothly that the audience could understand the feelings of love and loss without fully empathizing with them.

Cafe Society stole my heart the way Vonnie stole Bobby’s. A perfect movie for a date night or just a casual day out, I would recommend it to anyone who likes to be reminded how beautiful and complex the human heart can be.