Café Society | Film Review

Hey Guys x

This had been on my 'to watch' list for a while, purely based on the premise, which I found interesting because it didn't really seem like anything I had seen before. So after finding out that it was on Netflix, of course I had to watch it.

Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) moves from New York to LA to work with his uncle in Hollywood. There, he meets Vonnie (Kristen Stewart) and immediately falls for her - even though she has a boyfriend. But when Bobby finds out the true identity of Vonnie's boyfriend, their friendship crumbles and Bobby goes back to New York. However, when Vonnie comes back into his life years later, can he leave the past behind him?

I enjoyed this movie a lot more than I thought I was going to.

For a start, the set pieces, scenery and locations were all beautiful. They really gave the film that 'old Hollywood' feel that was so essential for a movie with this plot.
In this sense, it kind of felt like the movie 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'. The scenery felt really similar because, like that movie, they are painting Hollywood in an almost nostalgic light. That works really well for this film because we as the audience need to see Hollywood the way that Bobby sees it. We need to understand why he gave up his life in New York to take a huge risk by going to this place that is only known for its glitz and glamour, particularly in the 30's, when this film is set.

Bobby and Vonnie are two characters that are immediately warm and endearing, which again is important to the plot of the film. No matter how you feel about them in the end, you have to like them in the beginning so that you care about what happens to them.

Speaking of Vonnie, you wouldn't really imagine Kristen Stewart in a role like this, but once you start watching the film you don't even remember that it's her. She really seems to lose herself in this role, and does a really amazing job with it.

And then there's the rest of the actors, who were all obviously amazing. Steve Carell's (who plays Bobby's uncle) versatility knows no bounds, so of course it wasn't unexpected that he was amazing in this, as he always is. But the rest of the cast (including Blake Lively and Corey Stoll) were also amazing in the movie.

The film does something where your opinion on every character isn't set in stone. Not only are people always changing, but from the beginning a lot of the characters are morally ambiguous, and by the end, you still don't really know who you like or hate. And this includes Bobby and Vonnie, who are not at all what they seem when the film begins.

However, I didn't love the film. And the only way I can describe why is something that I've noticed a lot with Woody Allen movies. To me, they have a blandness that seems to be his signature. It's a nice film, but not that much happens and it almost seems like there isn't a moral to the story. You almost wonder why it got made in the first place.

Overall, a unique story that makes you feel nostalgic for a world you never knew, that once it's over, you wonder what the point of it was.

6.5/10

Lou