As said in my review for 'Café Society', and similarly in my other reviews for Woody Allen's films, Woody Allen often is an interesting and insightful director, whose films regardless of how they come off overall look great, have great soundtracks and he often knows how to get strong performances out of actors.
When Allen was at his best his writing was a fine mix of the hilarious, the poignantly dramatic and the thought-provoking. 'Irrational Man' doesn't see Allen at his best and is not among the best of his recent efforts. As also said in my review for 'Café Society', Allen's glory days were in the late 60s through to the early 90s, with the 70s and 80s (which saw masterpieces like 'Annie Hall', 'Crimes and Misdemeanours', 'The Purple Rose of Cairo', 'Love and Death', 'Hannah and Her Sisters' and 'Manhattan' for example) being particularly good decades. From mid-90s onward he became hit and miss (though personally don't consider any of his films awful, the lowest rating given is a 5), with the odd gem like 'Midnight in Paris' and 'Blue Jasmine' but generally his glory days are long gone.
'Irrational Man' is not a great film, but not a poor one either. To me, it is a mixed feelings sort of film. As far as his films from the 2010s decade go, 'Midnight in Paris' and 'Blue Jasmine' are vastly superior but 'Irrational Man' does fare better than 'To Rome With Love' and 'You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger'.
There are obvious great things here. The cinematography is magnificent, then again all of Allen's films look great, while the attention to detail in the rest of the production values is both visually striking and meticulous. The soundtrack is a good fit and stands well on its own, but the repeated jazz song does grate and is overused. 'Irrational Man' does start off very promising, there are some genuinely hilarious moments as well as some thoughtful one.
Performances are extremely good, and Allen is no slouch in the directing department either. Joaquin Phoenix is simply terrific here and demonstrates why he is one of the better actors working today. Not everybody has warmed to her character, but Emma Stone makes for a great leading lady, showing a skill for comedy but also an ability to bring substance and bite as well. Parker Posey is underused but is a scene stealer whenever she appears.
On the other hand, when things take a darker and more of a mystery tone 'Irrational Man' is nowhere near as strong. It is derivative of other Allen films like 'Crimes and Misdemeanours' and 'Match Point', which were both philosophical and dark (while the former had a perfect mix of comedy and drama and succeeded brilliantly at both) and explored the themes much better. 'Irrational Man' when taking on this tone feels bland and not suspenseful enough.
Much of the script didn't either, one of Allen's weaker scripts generally. There are parts that do genuinely sparkle, but many other parts are clunky and lay it on far too thick with the philosophy to the point of being heavy-handed. Some of the writing is annoying and over-explanatory too with little point of being so.
The story feels like too much is crammed in but in a way that doesn't feel developed as much as it should be. Also take issue with the ending which is rushed and inconclusive, plus one character behaves way too out of character for no obvious reason.
In conclusion, starts promisingly and has many great things but feels unsatisfying. There are worse Allen films, but also much better, and the film in general could have been much better executed. 6/10 Bethany Cox
