'Raw' Is Worth Losing Your Appetite

Warning: this film is not for the faint of heart. Raw has garnered attention from rumors of audience members fainting and puking during screenings, and while I found myself gagging during some of the most graphic scenes, Raw is much more than blood and gore. It doesn’t rely on carnage for shock value, but instead tells an important story in the process. The 33-year-old French native, Julia Ducournau, steps into the feature film world with this sensational horror film that disturbingly represents a girl’s transition into adulthood.

Justine, a shy and naïve girl played by Garance Marillier, arrives at veterinary school plagued with self-doubt and anxieties. She falsely assumes that her older sister Alexia, played by Ella Rumpf, will help her stay off the upperclassmen’s radar and avoid humiliation, but that hope is quickly destroyed when Alexia forces her to eat a rabbit’s kidney as part of a hazing ritual. While her body first rejects it by breaking out in hives, a need for meat possesses her. Little by little her cravings for animal meat turn into cravings for human flesh, and few things stop her from going into a full feeding frenzy.

There are clear parallels between Justine’s emerging cannibalism and her sexual exploration. At the start of the film Justine is a virgin who is overwhelmed by the debauchery of her first college party, and by the end of the film she scans the party perched up on a countertop, legs spread in search of her next prey. The veterinary students pack into these parties in a way that resembles a slaughterhouse, which is how Justine views them. Her sexual desire, her need for human flesh, and alcohol intertwine for some disastrous consequences.

Her sexual awakening and her evolution from vegetarianism to cannibalism come with a rise in self-confidence and self-awareness without regard for social norms or consequences. The first half of the movie she comes off shy, soft spoken, and doing everything possible to avoid humiliation with little success. At one point she is forced to wear an adult diaper over her jeans for looking at an upperclassman. Later she becomes aware that other people find her attractive and the power she can harness from that. She even seduces herself by dancing in front of a mirror while getting ready for a party. However, she is never truly free from the judgment of other people and the fear of humiliation she carries with her is only ever gone when she is entranced by human flesh. Once she’s done feeding, Justine typically feels guilty mainly because she worries what others would think, but that remorse is never enough to make her stop.

Ducournau and cinematographer Ruben Impens shoot this in a way that allows viewers to sympathize with Justine. She may be doing things that most people would find vile and immoral, but we see her fear, her anxiety, her evolution, and her growth. However, viewers are never truly at ease watching “Raw.” The score sends unnerving chills up and down your spine if the scenes drenched in blood and guts weren’t enough to make you want to hurl. There seems to always be a low hum of buzzing or alarms to make the hairs on your arms stand up.

Raw portrays womanhood in a gruesome way, much like Nicolas Winding Refn’s Neon Demon, but with a much stronger focus and effect. Refn’s film feels pretty superficial in comparison, relying heavily on visuals to mask the many plot holes and unnecessary length. In contrast, everything in Ducournau’s film feels purposeful from the more artistic, dreamlike sequences to the balance between wide shots and close ups. Raw is not an easy watch, but the well-balanced, well-paced horror film leaves you satisfied.

'Silence' Is an Emotional Journey From Unyielding Devotion to Despairing Doubts

Martin Scorsese's latest film, “Silence,” a long, torturous, and melodramatic portrayal of a man’s spiritual journey, is finally getting an expanded release tomorrow after nearly 25 years in the making. The long-awaited passion project follows two Jesuit priests on their journey to locate their missing teacher, Padre Ferreira, who is rumored to have denounced his Christian faith for the “savage” Japanese Buddhism. Based on the 1966 historical novel “Silence” by Shūsaku Endō, Scorsese and past collaborator Jay Cocks adapt this renowned work for the screen starring Andrew Garfield as Padre Rodrigues, Adam Driver as Padre Garupe, and Liam Neeson as Padre Ferreira.

“Silence” opens with serene, misty visuals of Japanese nature followed by striking shots of dozens of Jesuit priests having boiling water slowly drizzled torturously over their naked bodies in an effort to have them apostatize. During this the last letter Ferreira sent to Portugal is read aloud to his former students Rodrigues and Garupe who commit to searching for their beloved mentor to prove that he has not betrayed their God. As the pair set through Japan, hidden and protected by Japanese villagers who are terrorized by the Japanese inquisitor for their Christian practices, their devotion is tested and they are pushed to extremes, tortured emotionally, physically, mentally, and most of all, spiritually.

As you listen to Rodrigues’s inner monologue, the audience is put in the unique position of feeling and experiencing his pain while simultaneously being limited to observing the action. Just as he cannot help the Japanese villagers without denouncing his God, the viewers also cannot do anything but watch in torment. Rodrigues’ journey from unconditional love for his God to the agonizing loneliness and betrayal he feels from both God and his own Judas, Kichijiro. Rodrigues’s torture becomes the viewer’s torture, and as he is asked what Jesus would do and if God would forgive him for denouncing him, the audience is asked “what would you do?”

This film, appropriately titled, is chilling with its absence of sound. From beginning to end we hear only the ambient noise of nature occasionally mixed in with the sound of burning flesh, sizzling water, and the cries and screams of the tortured. This is intentional, and its silence combined with its length creates an arduous and brutal experience. In one of his lowest moments, Rodrigues prays out to God, “The weight of your silence is terrible,” a line so heavy your heart sinks into your chest and so perfectly captures the essence of the film.

Mexican cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, who is no rookie when it comes to shooting political and religious themed films (Frida, Comandante, Persona Non Grata), creates shots resembling the emotional and dynamic paintings of the Baroque Era. Famous for its religious themes and its depictions of Catholic saints and martyrs, Prieto turns scenes of torture and suffering into dramatic, powerful, and poignant visuals resembling the paintings of Caravaggio and Bernini. The shots of the three Japanese peasants crucified in the ocean as the rising tides pelted them into unconsciousness or families bound by straw and set aflame for practicing Catholicism are as serene as they are agonizing and unbearable. The use of the earth and its elements as means of torture is a reminder of the power of nature and how God’s creations can be used by humans against one another.  

Just as these images draw inspiration from Baroque art, Garfield and Driver’s frail figures and angular features parallel the paintings of the Byzantine era. The preparation for the role was so intense that Driver dropped 51 pounds to achieve this Byzantine look. Throughout the film, Garfield as Padre Rodrigues begins resembling the image of “White Jesus” common in western religious art so much that he even imagines his reflection transforming into that of Jesus himself. This is a perfect example of his character’s arrogance and belief that his religion is the one and only truth.

As a film that does not pass the Bechdel test, casts three white English speaking actors to play Portuguese missionaries, and centers around the physical and spiritual invasion of a foreign country told from the point of view of the Jesuit priest trying to impose his truth on vulnerable peasants, Silence does teeter on the fence of the “white savior” trope. Normally the inconsistency of the Portuguese accents would be off-putting, but the film’s focus still explores the imposing of Western beliefs and traditions on a country that already has its own deeply rooted culture in an outstanding way, resulting in a dark and torturous film that should not be missed.

'Moonlight' is a Tender and Crushing Film About the Unseen American

After an eight-year hiatus from directing feature films, Barry Jenkins returns with his sophomore release, a beautifully executed tale of an unseen American. Moonlight shares the life of a poor, black, gay man, a member of intersecting minority groups often pushed aside and labeled outcasts of society. Jenkins takes a character that feels that he could disappear without a trace and expertly shares his struggle.

Adapted from Tarrel Alvin McCarne’s play In the Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, Barry Jenkins breaks down the evolution of a man’s life into three parts. The film follows Chiron, a black man growing up in a poor community in Miami, as he comes to terms with his sexuality. Divided into childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, we catch glimpses of pivotal moments in Chiron’s life. In childhood, we get our first look at the bullying Chiron experiences and the unstable home life that shapes his future relationships. In adolescence, we see the progression of that bullying and his first and only experimentation with intimacy. In adulthood, we grasp the long term effects of the mistreatment Chiron endured throughout his childhood and teenage years.

The atypical structure of the film hints at its stage influence, but nothing about the film channels over the top theatrics too often found in film adaptions of plays. It is subtle and patient in its delivery creating constant tension throughout. The transitions between the three sections are seamless, and create a true evolution of character. Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, and Alex Hibbert give jaw dropping performances as adult, teenage, and child Chiron, respectively. Hibbert’s portrayal of six-year-old Chiron has the same depth and pain as Sanders’ and Rhodes’. The consistency in emotion and sensibility is chilling, unnerving, and crucial in understanding Chiron’s lifelong internal torment. The lack of dialogue and human interaction emphasize Chiron’s loneliness and alienation while the dizzying sensations, captured by cinematographer James Laxton, during the rare instances Chiron finds himself surrounded by groups of people highlight his inability to fit into the societal expectations of black men.

Jenkins does an impeccable job of aligning the audience with Chiron. The shots linger on his face capturing every emotional shift in nonverbal communication, all the sounds are subjective and emphasized according to how he perceives them, and the color blue saturates the screen acting as psychological insight into his constant introspective behavior. And while Jenkins touches on universal themes such as solitude and identity that help garner empathy toward Chiron, his story and position in life is unique, a reality unknown to most people.

The criticism of toxic masculinity and the way race, class, and sexuality influence the opportunities presented to men are placed front and center, but their delivery never feels overwhelming or forceful. Jenkins’ film is restrained and silent yet powerful filled with both tender and crushing moments, resulting in a triumphant and masterful stride towards diversifying the storylines we see in media. 

SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/A24subscribe From writer/director Barry Jenkins and starring Trevante Rhodes, Naomie Harris, Andre Holland, and Mahershala Ali. MOONLIGHT - Coming Soon.

Donald Glover’s 'Atlanta' Gets It Just Right

In the age of Hollywood whitewashing and an all-too-often general failure to represent minorities realistically in film and television, Donald Glover’s Atlanta is a breath of fresh air. Glover combines his experiences growing up in Stone Mountain, Georgia with his skills as a writer, actor, and rapper to showrun the new FX series that is entirely worth the hype.

Atlanta centers around Earn (Donald Glover), a young man taking time off of college for unexplained reasons. He’s broke, working a job he hates, and living with his ex-girlfriend Van (Zazie Beets) with whom he has a daughter. In an attempt to get his life back together he reaches out to his cousin Alfred (Brian Tyree Henry), a local rapper known as Paper Boi, and asks to manage him. Alfred is always accompanied by his right hand man Darius (Keith Stanfield) whose perpetually high persona helps him craft stellar one liners. Throughout the rest of the episode, we witness the dynamics of Earn’s relationships with his parents, old friends, and coworkers as well as a look into his day-to-day life setting up a solid foundation for the upcoming episodes.

Equipped with a group of talented black writers, the authenticity of the characters and their stories shines through right off the bat. Glover strives to make the audience feel the experiences of African Americans rather than explicitly state it through exhaustive dialogue, and he does so with a seamless balance of drama and comedy perfectly paced within a twenty-five-minute episode.  The comedic moments never leave you laughing out loud, but are instead subtly inserted with flawless timing - you can’t help but let a chuckle escape you. Also, the lack of exposition during dramatic moments is crucial in making a point when the episode addresses serious issues such as gun violence and unstable family life. The series opener never felt preachy or melodramatic, just simply a slice of life. These more serious moments didn’t need to be tragic and heartbreaking to still leave an impact. It shows maturity in its writing, something often lacking in pilot episodes.

Visually, the show doesn’t do anything out of the ordinary or groundbreaking. There are no crazy special effects, unnecessary camera movements, or anything jarring and distracting. Instead, the moody tones (shout out to the colorist), the simple yet powerful cinematography, and the clean editing allow for full focus on the characters and the story. Everything from the drone shots of Atlanta to the wardrobe of each individual character creates an incredible sense of setting adding to the show’s genuineness.

Glover and his writers create a realistic portrayal of what its like to be black in America in a way in which, if written by anything less, would leave these characters, their conversations, and their experiences culminating in a show inauthentic and loaded with empty stereotypes. In a time where Atlanta is increasingly hitting a cultural stride, Atlanta gets its representation just right.

“Captain Fantastic” is a Moving Story About the World’s Not So Greatest Dad

As Matt Ross’s touching sophomore film “Captain Fantastic” makes its rounds through the festival circuit it continues to garner more and more positive buzz. And “Captain Fantastic” lives up to its name as Ross tells the story of a family living to the beat of their own drum and drags you across each end of the spectrum of human emotion with a dramatized and idealistic portrayal of what it means to be a good parent.

In the opening scene, Bodevan (George MacKay), the eldest son of the six children of the Cash family, slays a deer and then takes a bite of its heart as part of a coming-of-age ritual that sets the engaging pace for the film. This world set deep in the forest of the Pacific Northwest feels so separate from the world we know, we instantly believe living in the wilderness is the only way to live. The Cashs' daily rituals include hunting, martial arts, and knife training all necessary for surviving in the isolated land. Their self-sustaining lifestyle is mixed with bits of singing and dancing around fires and homeschooling with topics including Marxist theory and critically analyzing Lolita.

Their life is turned upside down with the news of the suicide of the matriarch, Leslie Cash (Trin Miller), who had been hospitalized by her parents to treat her bipolar disorder. It is not until Ben Cash (Viggo Mortensen), the patriarch of the family, visits the local town and receives the news on his outdated cell phone that we see how removed his family is from civilization. Ben returns to his yurt-like home and shares the news with his kids with a frankness and maturity usually reserved for adults.

The death of Leslie and her upcoming funeral act as forced motivations for Ben to expose his kids from what he has protected them their entire life. The disconnect in socialization, however, is apparent through the kids’ interactions with strangers, and it is especially noticeable any time that Bodevan interacts with the opposite sex. On their road trip to New Mexico for Leslie Cash’s funeral, Ben’s parenting strategies and lifestyle are questioned as the kids attempt to reintegrate into society. Throughout the film the characters, and the audience, struggle to understand and accept different parenting styles and question what it means to be a family.

Ross’s background in acting shows in his directorial style as he is able to elicit captivating performances from even his youngest cast. Charlie Shotwell and Shree Crooks, Nai and Zaja respectively, steal the show as the littlest of the Cash clan. Their characters, wise beyond their years while maintaining their youthful curiosity, add a much needed balance to Ben’s often arrogant and controlling persona. Frankly, each actor shines in their roles gaining extreme levels of empathy from the audience. Nicholas Hamilton’s performance as the middle child Rellian provokes audible sneers and tears as he rejects his father’s lifestyle in favor of his conservative grandfather Jack’s (Frank Langella), and Mortesen’s counter as Ben, the charismatic and caring yet pushy and impatient father, creates an equally heartbreaking and heartwarming dynamic. Also, George MacKay does an incredible job revealing Bodevan’s internal struggle between his devotion for his father and his desire to attend university and assimilate with his peers.

Hidden underneath the main theme of the film, Ross subtly inserts commentary on different social, economic, and political issues including economic inequality, obesity, religion, and the American education system. All mentions of these issues feel organic and add depth and insight into the characters, their actions, and their dialogue. Each situation is carefully chosen and each conversation is profoundly significant allowing the characters and the scenes to develop naturally.

The ethereal score feels as if it were taken directly from the Jonsí discography. The transcendental quality of the music matches perfectly with the aesthetics of a film filled with rays of soft sunlight, striking shots of nature, and hippie décor. Each frame on the road feels postcard worthy and leaves you ready for adventure. With production design capturing the same adventurous spirit of Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom, the highly romanticized outdoor experiences strongly parallel the idealistic counter-culture lifestyle the Cash’s live.

During its premier in Cannes’s Un Certain Regard category, two hours of smiling, sniffling, and laughing were followed by a well deserved, boisterous standing ovation that lasted through the credits. Ross somehow succeeds in creating a feel good family drama that avoids standard road trip clichés and leaves you with a feeling of elation.

Subscribe to INDIE & FILM FESTIVALS: http://bit.ly/1wbkfYg Subscribe to TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/sxaw6h Subscribe to COMING SOON: http://bit.ly/H2vZUn Like us on FACEBOOK: http://bit.ly/1QyRMsE Follow us on TWITTER: http://bit.ly/1ghOWmt Captain Fantastic Official Trailer 1 (2016) - Viggo Mortensen, Frank Langella Movie HD In the forests of the Pacific Northwest, a father devoted to raising his six kids with a rigorous physical and intellectual education is forced to leave his paradise and enter the world, challenging his idea of what it means to be a parent.

'American Honey' is a Sweet Antidote for the Failing American Dream

British director Andrea Arnold left her home country for the United States for her first feature film set and shot outside of the United Kingdom, using her working class background to expose the life of a young American Honey and her desires for something greater. The Instagram-documentary-like film establishes a modern take on the pursuit of happiness with visuals and audio that invite you on the journey.

American Honey follows the life of Star (Sascha Lane), an 18 year-old girl stuck in a hopeless life assuming more responsibilities than she should, opening with her dumpster diving for food and attempting to hitchhike with two kids that aren't her own. Upon seeing a white van filled with a rambunctious crowd, she allows her curiosity to take over and follows them into a Walmart-esque store. There she meets Jake (Shia LaBeouf) with whom she is immediately hypnotized. Jake breaks out in to dance with his squad as “We Found Love” by Rihanna plays over the speakers before inviting her to join his comrades selling magazines door-to-door across the Midwest. After the minute of spontaneous excitement from meeting Jake, Star rushes home and returns the kids to their biological mother and drops her suffocating life, beginning to pursue her own adventure by joining the ragtag team of semi-delinquents to start an exhilarating life on the open road. Star finds her escape traveling cross-country working during the day and staying in motels and partying by night.

In several interviews the cast explains that Arnold and her casting directors traveled across America in search of their perfect characters. Sasha Lane, who plays the main character Star, was scouted on her spring break in Panama City Beach. With relatively little experience, she gives an exceptionally captivating performance as a tortured girl full of idealism and hopefulness for her modest future. Most of the cast was scouted in the same way. This type of casting allows the actors to be extremely genuine within their characters, which shows in the film from beginning to end. Two actors, however, already had extensive experience under their belt. Shia LaBeouf’s performance as the rat-tail wearing, slightly erratic Jake is one of his best performances in the last decade and one of the best at the Cannes Film Festival. The character Jake is so in tune with LaBeouf’s celebrity persona one can hardly tell the difference. Another stand out performance includes Riley Keough’s portrayal of the ruthless ringleader Krystal who embodies the phrase “if looks could kill.” The performances combined with the cinematography allow the audience to experience the world through Star’s eyes, getting to know best the characters she knows best.

The cast and crew travelled over 10,000 miles shooting on location collecting hours of road trip footage. Stand out Irish cinematographer Robbie Ryan closely captures intimate moments on the road and highlights the off-beat characters without inducing claustrophobia. With a 1:37:1 aspect ratio, the nearly square screen gives a home-movie feel pushing the story forward through snapshots of experiences rather than a traditional plot arc. Images of twisting hair, beautiful landscapes, and candid moments flood the screen for an over all feel good sensation, but the film tackles serious issues such as domestic abuse, morality, and income inequality to represent a world as dynamic and fascinating as the real one.

The “American Honey” soundtrack acts more as a mix tape rather than background noise; I found myself singing and dancing along in my movie theater seat wishing I was jamming out with the windows down. Arnold avoids an instrumental score and goes for a fantastic combination of recognizable tracks each song better than the next. Arnold incorporates a variety of genres including rap, hip-hop, country, and electronic, and by the end of the film we hear a repeat of Rihanna’s “We Found Love,” the group’s favorite, which could not have been a more perfect fit for the film. Hats off to the music supervisor. 

With a practically unrecognizable cast, a non-story plot, and a run time of 162 minutes, the success of Andrea Arnold’s fourth feature film American Honey seemed unlikely, but the Cannes Jury Prize winner immerses you deeply within the lives of the nomadic runaways leaving you wanting to feel the wind in your hair as you explore new lands.

Interview AMERICAN HONEY : Andrea Arnold, Shia Labeouf, Sasha Lane Riley Keough Subscribe to the Festival de Cannes channel: http://bit.ly/FestivaldeCannes-YouTube Our official website: http://www.festival-cannes.com Twitter : https://twitter.com/Festival_Cannes Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Festival-de-Cannes-Page-Officielle/197710070249937 Instagram: https://instagram.com/festivaldecannes Tumblr: http://festivaldecannesofficiel.tumblr.com/ ******************************************************** Abonnez-nous à la chaîne du Festival de Cannes pour ne rien rater de la Compétition: http://bit.ly/FestivaldeCannes-YouTube Le site officiel du festival de Cannes: http://www.festival-cannes.fr/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/Festival_Cannes Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Festival-de-Cannes-Page-Officielle/197710070249937 Instagram: https://instagram.com/festivaldecannes Tumblr: http://festivaldecannesofficiel.tumblr.com/

“It’s Only the End of the World” Makes You Wish the World Would End

Despite his past success at Cannes, 27 year-old director Xavier Dolan's sixth feature film premiere at the festival, It’s Only the End of the World fails astronomically. Shockingly, Dolan shared at a press conference Thursday that he considered it his best yet, though Dolan drowns the film’s potential in melodramatic theatrics, heavy-handed metaphors, and insufferable characters.

It’s Only the End of the World - adapted from Jean-Luc Lagarce’s 1990 play - introduces Louis (Gaspard Ullile), a gay playwright returning with an undetermined terminal illness to visit his family for the first time in 12 years. Through voice over, he explains in the most minimal detail his family history and his desire to maintain control of his life despite his insurmountable obstacle. Louis is received by his mother, Martine (Nathalie Baye), overbearing and decorated in matching bright cobalt blue eye shadow and nail polish, his youngest sister, Suzanne (Léa Seydoux), who just cries, his hot-tempered brother, Antoine (Vincent Cassel), who yells at everyone to shut up while only screaming himself, and Antoine’s irritatingly timid wife, Catherine (Marion Cotillard), who stutters through her lines.

The rest of the film is spent between screaming matches filled with useless dialogue and winded monologues and extremely close-up shots. Each character, obviously, lives within their own drama and anxieties, but the excessive shooting style overkills the message. So much of the film is in your face rather than subtly stated and interpreted losing its intrigue. The heated rows serve as the only conflict in the entire film, and the lack of character backstory or development leaves the audience questioning whether the “tension” presented is worthy of the intense hatred and immaturity.

The film takes place almost entirely in one location over the course of one day, which paired with its excessive dramatic dialogue and over the top characters, the film never separates from its stage play feel. Also, Dolan’s focus on the cuckoo clock as a metaphor for Louis’s time running out comes off painfully amateur and poorly executed. The theatrics of it all feel oppressive, forced, and unnecessary.

It's disappointing to see such a gifted cast of renowned actors wasted on a film that offers no depth or attention to its characters. Each performance feels stifled, only acting within the tight parameters of their characters. Cotillard as Catherine stutters as her lines get lost in translation, Seydoux as Suzanne breaks out in tears every scene despite the over emphasis on the lack of relationship between her character and Louis, Baye as Martine hovers and attempts to ignore the palpable tension, and Cassel as Antoine is unbearable as the explosive older brother. Cotillard, Seydoux, Baye and Cassel have all reached international acclaim and prove themselves time and time again, but they are robbed of an opportunity to shine in It’s Only the End of the World.  

Gaspard Ullile, who also stars in another Cannes film, The Dancer, remains tight-lipped and relatively reserved except for the two instances we tap into Louis’s building nostalgia as he trudges closer and closer to death. The two dream-like and romanticized flashbacks paired with booming pop music create a slight depth to the complexity of the psychological effect the disease has on him. Their infrequency, however, makes it feel as if they were an after thought. This is unfortunate as they are the only redeeming parts of the film. The jumbled cinematographic details and flip flopping soundtrack seem erratic and unfocused as if Dolan was on crack during production and post-poduction (as he directed and edited the film) and decided to change aesthetic decisions every three minutes.

The dismissal of any and all homosexual themes from the original play weaken the films perspective. The play is written by a man who lived during the AIDS epidemic and later died of the disease himself in 1995. In Dolan’s film version, we get only brief moments of Louis’s former boyfriend, Pierre, once in a flashback and once more with the mention of his death later in the film. Dolan never alludes to the possibility of AIDS as the disease leading Louis to his death, a detail that would garner more sympathy from the audience. This blatant disregard for the play’s themes leaves the film’s focus simplistically placed only on a white man dealing with his dysfunctional family. How original.

After years of back to back successes at such an impressive age, Dolan finally fails. Now with a flop behind him, we can hope his next film, already in pre-production, won’t be as painful to sit through.

'Café Society' Not a Night Club Worth Visiting

Cannes favorite, Woody Allen, made his 14th festival appearance with Café Society this year. In typical Allen fashion, the film stars big name actors including Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Steve Carell, Blake Lively and Corey Stoll, but despite the big names, Allen’s recent films have garnered most of their major buzz based on negative press. While the films cinematography, production design, and soundtrack are admirable, its poor performances and weak writing make it land on Allen’s growing flop list.

The film begins as Bobby (Jesse Eisenberg) moves from the Bronx out to the west coast hoping to experience Hollywood’s golden age. Once there, his Uncle Phil (Steve Carell) offers him a job. On his first day he meets Vonnie (Kristen Stewart) with whom he is instantly smitten. Vonnie first rejects his advances, but, when she is dumped by her boyfriend, she immediately comes crawling straight towards Bobby like a lost, lonely puppy. Following a series of unfortunate events and misunderstandings, Bobby is left alone and returns heart broken and hardened to New York. A few years pass and it seems as though Bobby’s life heads up hill. He marries Veronica (Blake Lively), has a child, and starts up a wildly successful nightclub with his brother, Ben (Corey Stoll). But, just when his life seems to be going perfectly, the trouble begins: Vonnie pops back into Bobby’s life. They share their dreams and their “what could have beens,” but they never fulfill their unrequited love.

Undoubtedly inspired by himself, Allen portrays Bobby as a naïve and romantic young man who must squash his romantic dreams to continue a life of monogamy and monotony. Eisenberg does a good job in portraying Bobby’s transition from immature young man to cynical adult, but unfortunately, the half-assed performances, unbelievable relationships, and the inclusion of themes repeated in Allen’s body of work make the plot uninteresting. It is normal for an artist to draw inspiration from their personal lives; it is usually encouraged. But, when the artist writes and directs films every other year, their work easily become boring and repetitive. Jesse Eisenberg, now an Allen film vet, plays essentially the same character he played in When in Rome. Instead of an aspiring architect like Jack, Bobby aspires
to work in Hollywood. Instead of falling for a beautiful and intelligent actress unlike any girl he has met before, he falls for a beautiful and intelligent secretary working in Hollywood unlike any girl he has met before. Like Jack, Bobby stays with the safe blonde rather than risking it all for an alluring brunette.

Kristen Stewart’s performance as Vonnie is basically Kristen Stewart wearing more pink dresses than normal. Stewart’s real life “tomboy” attitude peeps through as she attempts to portray a girly, bubbly, and captivating secretary. When adorned in fancy jewels and elegant furs, she looks uncomfortable, as if rejecting her character. In scenes requiring any romantic interaction, she appears hesitant and reserved. Also, casting Steve Carell as a suave and accomplished Hollywood hotshot hinders the believability of his character (typecasting at its finest).

The lack of depth in Stewart’s acting can be easily attributed to the lack of depth of her character. As a matter of fact, the lack of depth of all the female characters. Allen is known for writing idolized and romanticized female characters, but that is no excuse to continue writing such one dimensional, mind-numbing characters film after film. Both Vonnie and Veronica are introduced and sustained on such superficial level that limits the audience’s ability to see them
as more than objects.

With accusations about Woody Allen’s history of sexual abuse, the reveal of Vonnie and Uncle Phil’s relationship is unsettling rather than comical. It definitely does not help that Allen’s indiscretions are under the media microscope even more heavily now thanks to the rape joke at the opening ceremony. On top of the allegations, the lack of chemistry and authenticity in the on-screen relationships between Vonnie and Uncle Phil and Vonnie and Bobby leave the main story line and the jokes falling flat.

The only truly comedic moments include Bobby’s family. Bobby’s large and meddlesome family finds itself in sticky situations as they react to the events in their lives. Sadly, those scenes do not push the story line forward in anyway; they just exist for comedic purposes. Recycled and tired jokes, themes, and plotlines make for a boring and predictable film. Despite its trademark Woody Allen touches, Café Society does not live up to the director’s
past films.

Cafe Society is in theaters July 15th