773 Cafe Society

Woody Allen's latest film, Cafe Society is a glamorous work, and I like this movie in a point that is totally personal. The story is located in Hollywood and New York, but this beautiful description of late 1930's gorgeous lifestyle (of course there is irony in it) instantly reminds me of the Craig Rice's detective stories of John J. Malone and his piquant buddies, Jake Justus and Helene Justus in the city of Chicago. Those are one of my early favorite books and its charm is timelessly shining. In reading her works, I only imagined the unforgettable characters, the city, office, cars, bars, socialites, gangsters and nightclubs because I never knew any of the modern films that precisely visualized these images in 30's. Surely there should be difference of cities and the universe of the story, but I was just amazed by the spectacular beauty of the scenes and characters. Blake Lively, seems to be the best and perfect match to the image of Helene, and the luxurious and successful nightclub full of well-dressed people reminds me of the Casino, which Jake owns and manages. In the club, I imagine, there should be Mona McClane, George Brand or Daniel Von Flanagan. This is not the only attractiveness of the movie, but as much as I like the works of Craig Rice, I like this movie, and I think it's fun to appreciate a movie in a very personal perspective.