Café Society

Café Society is fun, romantic, and surprisingly smart, with a lot more going for it than it might seem. As we get a glimpse into contrasting scenes of New York and Hollywood during a rich and vibrant time in America's history, we begin to see the mentalities of the esteemed and the successful, and begin to realise there is perhaps this side to all of us. Employing a colourful and exciting aesthetic and a rich and genuine cast, Woody Allen achieves an interesting and engaging movie with a lot to think about.

Set in the mid 1930s, Café Society follows Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) as he decides to leave his quaint life in the Bronx behind and move to Hollywood to make a name for himself. Bobby hooks up with his uncle Phil (Steve Carrell), a highly successful film agent, who helps him get a start in the industry. Bobby quickly falls for the charming Vonnie (Kristen Stewart), Phil's surprisingly grounded secretary, however complications force the two apart. Bobby returns to New York to run a night club with his gangster brother Ben (Corey Stoll), before his life gets shaken up once again as Vonnie re-enters the picture.

The writing is surprisingly clever, with an easily missed message smartly woven into the changes experienced by the characters. While the end of the movie may ultimately leave audiences wondering if it was nothing more than a comfortable romance flick, the changes experienced by the characters throughout the film suggest otherwise. As Bobby remarks to Vonnie how she has fallen into the glitz and glamour lifestyle she had once loathed, we can't help but realise the same of Bobby himself, who perhaps only became this way through the bitter lessons learnt during his time in Hollywood. Needless to say, there is much to think about in the film's true meaning, and Woody Allen crafts these complicated pictures of society masterfully.

Performances are impressive across the board. Jesse Eisenberg employs a mix of his trademark awkwardness (The Social Network, Zombieland) as well as his surprisingly enjoyable and just as recognisable charismatic character (Now You See Me) to create an enjoyable dynamic to the character of Bobby. Likewise, Kristen Stewart proves she has matured much from her Twilight days to deliver a charming and enjoyably complex performance as Vonnie. Cafe Society features an impressive supporting cast, with particular mentions to Parker Posey who continues to raise the question of why she isn't in more A-List movies.

When it boils down to it, however, this movie isn't perfect. While Woody Allen's narration is ultimately enjoyable, it is perhaps unnecessary in telling a story which easily tells itself, and the constant jumps between the two different sides of America can be a bit jarring at times. This being said, the upbeat jazz soundtrack helps draw the viewer into the rich context of the film, easily supported by the constant name-dropping to 1930s Hollywood celebrities such as Fred Astaire and Joan Crawford. While it is often easy for intended immersion such as this to feel forced, Café Society does it with ease.

If you like complicated romance, you will enjoy this movie. If you like jazz and the 30s, you will enjoy this movie. If you like impressive portrayals of socially unsure and evolving characters, you will definitely enjoy this movie. And if you've ever seen a Woody Allen film and liked it, you will enjoy this movie. 

Irrational Man

Every time I go and see a Woody Allen movie, I go in with a preconceived notion based on past experience what that film is going to be, but he always throws me for a loop. The movies of his that really stick out to me are the ones where he makes a sharp right hand turn not long into the movie, for example time travel in Midnight In Paris. Because of this, that is why Irrational Man sticks out for me.

Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix) is a philosophy professor who has lost all will to live. He is alcoholic and teaches his classes only halfheartedly. He develops a relationship with fellow teacher Rita (Parker Posey) and a friendship with student Jill (Emma Stone). Because of a reputation that precedes him everyone believes that he and Jill are having an affair, including Jill, despite his active efforts against one. One day while eating at a diner with Jill, they both eavesdrop into a conversation being had about a crooked judge and a child custody case. It is in that moment that Abe is lifted from his bad mindset when he decides to kill the judge.

With this movie, Allen is setting out to make his own adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock's thriller Rope, a movie where two university students attempt to pull off the perfect crime and in a way it works quite well. It definitely has resemblance to an Allen film, but at the same time it is fun and refreshing. Yes, the main character is self absorbed and neurotic, but he is also self aware about the situation he is in, often spouting forth philosophy tenants to match his feelings.

Allen also throws in some big moments that make you jump in delight or fear at what is going on. I like the films when he does this because it really throws me off guard. The last film of his I saw was Blue Jasmine and that was a rather tame self-reflective piece. When he shakes his own formula, it is really quite enjoyable for the audience.

Emma Stone is quite obviously becoming Allen's new muse and I think is doing a good job at inspiring him to tread new ground. Her character couldn't be further from that in Magic in the Moonlight, here she is just playing an archetypical college girl, Emma Stone if you will. Joaquin is fantastic and funny as Abe Lucas and it is amazing to see the transformation his character goes through. It is also amazing to see his dedication to gaining the weight for this role.

Irrational Man is such a refreshing new Woody Allen movie that would be perfect for any jaded fans of his like I was, it is filled with fun moments and funnier performances.

Magic in the Moonlight

Well after nearly fifty years of his career and nearly fifty films written & directed (quite an achievement on it's own), Woody Allen is still going strong with his latest film, the romantic period piece, Magic in the Moonlight

In 1928, Stanley Crawford (Colin Firth), the renowned illusionist, fraud de-bunker and supreme egotist is called upon by fellow performer and childhood friend Howard (Simon McBurney) to expose a spiritualist named Sophie (Emma Stone) who has won over a rich American family, the Catledges, on the French riviera, nearby to where his Aunt Vanessa lives. However, surrounded by loud-mouthed Americans whilst attempting to catch her in the act several times, Stanley faces a problem, he starts to believe that she could be the real thing.

The story, again written by Allen, is like most of his films both clever and hilarious, with genuine characters that draw you in. If I had any criticisms of it, it's that the characters views morph just a bit too readily, which can sometimes be a bit jarring. However you could argue that this is just Woody having a crack at the immutability of our beliefs.

Both Firth and Stone absolutely shine in their roles. Despite his callousness, pessimism and extreme ego, Stanley is actually quite a likable character, and supremely funny, both of which come down to Firths strong performance. Stone is both charismatic and believable as Sophie. The supporting cast are also very good in this, especially Marcia Gay Harden as Sophie's unwaveringly supportive mother and Eileen Atkins as Aunt Vanessa, whose sassy wit is a joy to hear.

I find with period pieces, especially those that are set in this era, that you can often tell that it's just a facade. Here though, this is not the case where a lot of passion and care has gone into the overall design. The late 20's really come to life with the accurate costumes, lavish sets and vintage cars, all of which blossom with colourful character off the screen. All of this is complemented by a well chosen mix of period music and classical pieces.

Judging by it's current reception, not everybody enjoyed this film as much as I did. But one of the brilliant things about movies is that they're only what each and every member of the audience makes of them, and I found this to be genuinely funny, impeccably directed and surprisingly touching in parts. I really enjoyed this one.

Fading Gigolo

I can see how this film could be perceived as Woody Allen film. The familiar Manhattan setting, the insecure characters, (not to mention that it also stars Allen) are all the elements that make up one of his movies. However, it is not, and if you look closely it differs from an Allen film just slightly.

This has to do with director John Turturro, who should be familiar with audiences of all ages having been in over sixty films. The film has a sort of faster pace than I originally thought it would have. In the first scene, we get straight to the action, there's no messing around introducing characters. Murray (Allen) gets straight to the point and asks his friend Fioravante (Turturro) whether or not he would be interested in the idea of being a male escort.

It happens just like that and we the audience are just as confronted by the idea as Fioravante. As he contemplates the idea, we get to see into Fioravante's life. Very soon he accepts and starts to do his duties as gigolo with a number of women, including Dr. Parker (Sharon Stone) and Selima (Sofia Vergara).

Allen of course plays his old role as always. There are some very funny scenes where he is out and about trying to find women in his role as pimp. He soon comes along Avigal (Vanessa Paradis), a Jewish widow living in Brooklyn. She is watched over by Dovi (Liev Schreiber), a neighbourhood watch officer, who believes himself to be a suitor of Avigal.

Schreiber is a great foil to Turturro and could be menacing if his character wasn't such a wet rag. There was one scene that he was involved in where I was confused and this involved an underground Jewish court trial.

Verdict: Turturro has made a very funny film that features some very beautiful women. I don't know if I would like to be picked up by four burly Jewish guys in an SUV.