REVIEW: ‘Café Society’ stiff, but appealingly sentimental

Café Society, the latest from writer/director Woody Allen, works hard to emulate for the viewer the feeling of reading a novel. It also works hard at ‘c’est la vie’ sentimentality, a sweet, stinging sorrow about love unrequited and dreams unfulfilled.

Some of it works due to the winsome cast and Allen’s trademark wit. But some of Allen’s other stylistic choices for the film feel labored, and at times the film seems to lose narrative focus.

Woody Allen film lovers will no doubt be more forgiving of Café Society‘s faults. But for others, those faults are sure to drag down what could have been a more poignant and entertaining film. (Read more: http://goo.gl/4YRtCZ)