Cafe Society has all the ingredients for a great film. Great cast, great sets and cinematography. It’s got that rich, golden look to it that lends bygone eras an air of magic and nostalgia. It’s about the movie business in the 1930’s, which is always fun subject matter. But something is off here. The performances are stiff and awkward, like the actors needed a couple more takes to settle in. I don’t blame them for their performances. I know that they’re all great actors capable of outstanding work. So then, it falls to the director. He wasn’t able to scratch deeper and hit the emotional wavelengths he was shooting for. Not sure what happened here, but this movie just fell a bit flat. It wasn’t a total bore, but I was just hoping for better I guess.

3 out of 5 stars