Now 80, but still produces a film a year, Woody Allen is undoubtedly past his best. However, almost every release has its merits and every so often, he produces a gem. In Café Society, set in the 1930s, Jesse Eisenberg plays Bobby, a young man who travels from New York to Los Angeles to try to find a more fulfilling life. Given a job by his Uncle Phil (Steve Carell), a Hollywood agent, he meets and falls in love with secretary Vonnie (Kristen Stewart) without knowing that she is having an affair with Phil.
For much of its running time, Café Society is very entertaining, but seemed to be one of Allen’s more fluffier, less substantial films. However, the last 20 minutes or so take the film in a very different direction. A family tragedy and a very realistic, and heart-rending, conclusion to the relationship between Bobby and Vonnie turn it into something that can be considered alongside such master works as Crimes and Misdemeanors (though I am not saying that it is anywhere near as good as that).
Eisenberg is good as the obligatory Allen substitute, and Carell continues his impressive run of performances, but it is the increasingly excellent Stewart who really catches the eye. It is easy to understand how both men fall for Vonnie but thanks to the charming performance, she never stops being a sympathetic character.
The voice over by Allen is probably unnecessary but it doesn’t intrude too much. All-in-all, one of the better films in the director’s recent works.
Rating 8.5 out of 10