Like the Cannes Film Festival, a new Woody Allen film is not an unexpected surprise — it’s an annual certainty. We don’t ask ourselves if Woody’s going to drop another film, and we don’t wonder when next year’s Cannes Film Festival will be. Rain or shine, hell or high-water, it’s a-coming, and its been that way for decades already. As a result, we don’t judge each edition wholly on its merits, but against a storied history. What does that mean for “Café Society,” then? Well, it means that it’s a perfectly enjoyable, perfectly forgettable nostalgi-comedy that will be taken to task for not being anything more.
Jesse Eisenberg stars as Bobby Dorfman, an outer-borough expat trying to make his name in 1930s Hollywood. Working for powerful Uncle Phil (Steve Carell), Bobby is less taken by the screen trade than he is with Phil’s young mistress, Vonnie (Kristen Stewart). Meanwhile, his brother Ben (Corey Stoll) is expanding his gangland empire in New York and trying to lure Bobby home.
As neurotic Bobby — torn between New York and Los Angeles, torn between a blonde and a brunette — Jesse Eisenberg channels Woody. And the story about Jewish gangsters, intellectuals and showbiz machers feels like Woody channeling Woody.
The film’s showbiz-in-the-Golden Age focus will get people talking about “Radio Days.” The gangsters and nightclubs feel a lot like “Bullets Over Broadway.” And Lord knows the novel-like structure and shared narrators will yield countless unfavorable comparisons to “Hannah and Her Sisters” (to be fair, most films can be unfavorably compared to that masterpiece).
But does that change Allen’s killer wit? Does it make the comic barbs and inspired set-pieces in “Café Society” any less effective? If the waves of laughter at this morning’s press screening are any indications, the answer is perfectly clear. Let’s not forget: However narrow his range may be, Woody Allen is great at what he does.
In that, he’s not alone. Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (“The Conformist,” “Apocalypse Now”), no less a titan of modern cinema than Allen, shoots digitally for the first time, and works visual wonders. Storaro bathes the screen in glowing light, shooting silhouettes and candlelight in ways that are nothing short of breathtaking. But then, he’s Vittorio Storaro, what else should you expect?
And as Vonnie, Kristen Stewart once again proves why she’s such an interesting actress. Stewart doesn’t completely upend her range — she’s still kind of glum, a bit subdued — but she digs deeper into it, finding new shades in that K-Stew pout. She doesn’t change her style, she owns it.
And that’s “Café Society” in a nutshell: a bunch of artists doing what they do. Owning it. They’ve done it better, sure. They’ve done before, absolutely. But dammit if they don’t do it well.
That very rote-ness is what makes the film such an effective opener. To those looking for something startling or inventive, it gently reminds you: Cannes 2016 has only just begun.
25 Buzziest Movies at Cannes 2016, From Woody Allen's 'Cafe Society' to 'Purple Rain'
"Cafe Society"
The last time Woody Allen had Cannes' opening-night movie was 2011's "Midnight in Paris," which landed four Oscar nominations.
"Julieta"
Pedro Almodóvar's 20th movie focuses on women, an approach that has led to many of his most notable films.
"Loving"
Five years after winning Cannes' Critics Week competition with "Take Shelter," American director Jeff Nichols is back with a true story of an interracial Virginia couple fighting unjust laws in the 1960s.
"American Honey"
One of three female directors (versus 17 men) in the main competition, Andrea Arnold makes grimy, tough movies; her first film set in the United States deals with a runaway teenage girl and features Shia LaBeouf.
"The Neon Demon"
Nicolas Winding Refn’s last two Cannes movies have been the very good “Drive” and the very bad “Only God Forgives,” making this horror film with Elle Fanning and Keanu Reeves a fascinating risk.
"Personal Shopper"
Kristen Stewart became the first American actress to win France’s version of the Oscar, the Cesar, for Olivier Assayas’ last film, “Clouds of Sils Maria.” Now she’s back (playing, um, a personal shopper) in a new Assayas film.
"Slack Bay"
Adventurous French director Bruno Dumont will be going to Cannes for the sixth time with this comedic film set in 1910; if it's like his other work, it'll be divisive.
A documentary made with the cooperation of living entertainers runs the risk of being a sentimental puff piece, but directors Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens have an ace in the hole is the acid wit of Carrie Fisher, who’s not likely to countenance a sappy look at her life with her famous mother.
"Neruda"
Before Chilean director Pablo Larrain unveils his Jackie Kennedy biopic with Natalie Portman, he tackles another icon, Chilean poet and diplomat Pablo Neruda.
"Gimme Danger"
Here's another icon: punk-rock godfather Iggy Pop, who gets the documentary treatment from Jim Jarmusch (who's also at Cannes with his fictional feature film "Paterson").
"Elle"
Dutch director Paul Verhoeven has made hits ("Robocop," "Basic Instinct") and bombs ("Showgirls"); his new film is a thriller starring Cannes regular Isabelle Huppert as a rape victim who stalks her assailant.
"The Last Face"
Sean Penn's fifth film as director, a romantic drama starring Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem, would likely be worth checking out even if it wasn't for the voyeuristic thrill of seeing Penn and Theron on the red carpet less than a year after their relationship broke up.
"The Unknown Girl"
The Dardenne brothers had a real movie star, Marion Cotillard, in the last film they took to Cannes, but now they’re back with their usual cast of unknowns and non-pros in this story of a doctor trying to discover the identity of a young woman who died.
"The BFG"
Recent Oscar winner Mark Rylance reunites with director Steven Spielberg for this Roald Dahl adaptation, one of the few Hollywood studio productions using Cannes as a launching pad.
"Aquarius"
Brazilian director Kleber Mendonca Filho's 2013 film debut "Neighboring Sounds" was a small gem, raising expectations for his second outing as director.
"Dog Eat Dog"
With writer-director Paul Schrader (who directed "Affliction" and wrote "Taxi Driver") and stars Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe, the closing-night film in the Directors' Fortnight section promises to be combustible.
"The Dancer"
Johnny Depp's daughter, Lily-Rose Depp, plays Isadora Duncan in Stéphanie Di Giusto's biographical drama about Duncan and modern dance pioneer Loie Fuller.
"The Red Turtle"
Dutch animator Michael Dudok de Wit won an Oscar for his animated short "Father and Daughter," and now he’s the first non-Japanese director to have a film released by Studio Ghibli.
"Risk"
On the heels of her Oscar-winning Edward Snowden documentary "Citizenfour," Laura Poitras turns to another controversial figure, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
"It's Only the End of the World"
Xavier Dolan’s sixth film is his fifth to go to Cannes, and his second in the main competition after last year’s daring “Mommy.” By the way, the Canadian director is only 27.
"The Transfiguration"
A first-time director gets into Cannes with an American indie horror movie? Michael O'Shea did, much to his surprise.
"Sierranevada"
Two heavyweight Romanian filmmakers are considered strong contenders for the Palme d'Or; the first is Cristi Puiu ("The Death of Mr. Lazarescu"), with this near-three-hour family drama.
"Bacalaureat"
The other Romanian director in the main competition is Cristian Mungiu, with a small-town drama that comes to Cannes nine years after his "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" won the Palme d'Or.
"Mal de Pierres" ("From the Land of the Moon")
French director Nicole Garcia, one of the three female directors in competition, cast Marion Cotillard in her adaptation of the Milena Agus novel about a woman at the end of World War II.
