Story Overview

CAFÉ SOCIETY is a bittersweet romantic film set in the 1930s, inspired by the nostalgic vision of Woody Allen. The story follows Bronx-born Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) as he journeys first to Hollywood in search of love, and later back to New York, where he becomes entangled in the vibrant, fast-paced nightlife of high society.

At its core, the film paints a colorful portrait of Bobby’s family life, capturing the tension, warmth, and contradictions of a tightly knit household. His constantly bickering family consists of his mother Rose (Jeannie Berlin), his father Marty (Ken Stott), his aggressively dominant brother Ben (Corey Stoll), his kind-hearted sister Evelyn (Sari Lennick), and her pedantic husband Leonard (Stephen Kunken). For Ben, brute force is the solution to nearly every problem, while the rest of the family endlessly debates morality, faith, life-and-death choices, and the commercial value of religion.

Longing for something greater than the modest life offered by his father’s jewelry shop, Bobby escapes to Hollywood to work for his powerful agent uncle Phil (Steve Carell). There, he falls in love with Phil’s charming assistant Vonnie (Kristen Stewart). When Bobby learns that Vonnie is involved with another man, he agrees to remain friends, masking his heartbreak with quiet acceptance.

As time passes, Bobby befriends model agent Rad (Parker Posey) and her wealthy producer husband Steve (Paul Schneider). When Vonnie is abandoned by her lover, Bobby seizes the chance to win her heart, and the two begin a romantic relationship. Despite Vonnie accepting Bobby’s proposal of marriage and relocation to New York, fate intervenes, and their plans unravel.

Returning to New York with a broken heart, Bobby begins working for his brother Ben, who has entered the nightclub business. Bobby’s natural talent for management quickly transforms the club into one of the city’s hottest venues. Through Rad, he meets the elegant socialite Veronica (Blake Lively), with whom he starts a new romance. Although his feelings for Vonnie never fully fade, Bobby marries Veronica upon learning of her pregnancy, settling into what appears to be a fulfilled and successful life.

Everything seems perfectly aligned—until one night, when Vonnie unexpectedly walks through the doors of “Les Tropiques.”

Both touching and humorous, with the narrative pull of a classic novel, CAFÉ SOCIETY is a shimmering love letter to an era. It guides the audience from the pastel-colored opportunists inhabiting Hollywood’s plush mansions, to the humble conflicts of a Bronx family, the violent chaos of New York gangsters, and the glittering yet hollow surface of Manhattan’s high society—along with the secrets hidden beneath its elegance.