Café Society

51st KVIFF – Allen has made a recycled, safe comedy snack. Eisenberg plays a confident and absent-minded young man. Steward city is a mess, so there’s balance in the universe and everything is where it should be. The characters aren’t real people, but one-dimensional figures on the chessboard of Woody’s humour, and everything just fizzles out. (10/07/2016)

Say what you will, but this is the Woody Allen I love so much (though his pure-blooded comedies are even better for me). The most amazing thing to me about Café Society is that it's the first film in which Jesse Eisenberg plays a likable person, and he really is likable. His Bobby is not poor, whiny or desperate, and instead he has courage, he's quite a bold young man and that's fine. Kristen Stewart stuck out a bit at first because of the beautiful period atmosphere, but after a few minutes she fell into it, Steve Carell is a great actor, period, and Blake Lively charms just about everyone. It's also great that Allen's script knows moderation - there are so many things that could have been developed and talked about further, it's just that there's no need, everything important is said and anything extra would just slow Café Society down. This is also true of the ending, which comes at a beautiful moment. As for the criticisms, I have to disagree loudly, especially with those that despise Ben's story and say it is unnecessary. On the contrary, I see an ingenious parallel in it - giving up Judaism and accepting Christianity "for the sake of advantage" is the same as leaving one person you love for another you prefer. (28/09/2016)

The enchanting atmosphere of the Golden Age of Hollywood era and the playing out of a love story promises more than what the movie can deliver in its second half: a clichéd love tangle and the unnecessary secondary storyline with a gangster brother. Jesse Eisenberg and Steve Carell are great, while Kristen Stewart doesn’t seem the right choice for her role. Blake Lively would deserve more space, though the development of her character would probably bring more clichés to the film. The movie feels longer than it actually is. A tired Woody. Two and a half stars. (23/09/2016)

Last time, I was quite enthusiastic about Magic in the Moonlight, but Café Society is even better. I haven't experienced this much authentic happiness from interwar Hollywood in a long time. There are plenty of excellent details, winking, and playing with names and projects, as well as the classic relationship analysis. It's not necessary to enjoy a romance that isn't quite tip-top, but if you appreciate art deco and a zillion references to all those names like Gloria Swanson, Barbara Stanwyck, Ginger Rogers, or Jean Harlow, you've come to the right place. The costumes, the sets, and the atmosphere are all top-notch, and only after all this did I realize that the make-up is not period-based, but fortunately, that doesn't ruin the whole (which is an interesting paradox). (27/09/2016)

It's a love triangle, that's all there is to it and the whole thing kind of fizzles out. Woody only makes films out of inertia these days, but Café Society in particular is so caressing, cute, and in its own way, endearingly old-fashioned, especially since it has the flawless atmosphere of 1930s Hollywood, an era that has always appealed to me, an old-timer. In addition to that, I realised that Stewart can be attractive when the role allows her to. And in fact the ending was exactly as melancholic as it should. (19/12/2016)