Irrational Man

An interesting and enjoyable watch, but a little slow at times. Irrational Man is one of those movies where going in blind will certainly make for a better experience. Emma Stone gives a great performance in this and Joaquin Phoenix is amazing as always, and for the most part there is some great dialogue and chemistry between them. Probably would've been a much lower rating if not for Joaquin Pheonix's performance, who I am yet to see in a bad movie. It isn't the masterpiece I was hoping for from a Woody Allen film, and certainly does not compare to Midnight in Paris or Blue Jasmine, but it's still an enjoyable one and worth a watch.

A tight script? Check. Capable actors? Check. Lots of witty dialogue? Check. A jazzy soundtrack? Check. Beautiful photography in idyllic settings? Check.

Yes, all the ingredients are there. Just leave it to the 79-year old chef to create a delicious dish out of it. When everything is right, a Woody Allen movie is a delight to watch. And with 'Irrational Man', this is absolutely the case.

Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone are clearly enjoying themselves as the grumpy philosophy professor and his admiring student and lover. Allen's script plays in a lighthearted way with serious philosophical concepts such as guilt, evil and righteousness. Also, he throws in a murder mystery and makes the suspense last until the very end.

'Irrational Man' will not be one of Allen's greatest movies, because it lacks an extraordinary element like Cate Blanchett's performance in 'Blue Jasmine', or the historical dimension of 'Midnight in Paris'. But even without such an extra ingredient, 'Irrational Man' shows an expert craftsman at work. In a couple of years time, it might just turn out to be one of his most underrated films.

I saw this movie today and it was just a breath of fresh air. In this era of political correctness and the consequent surge of tragicomedies that seem to be made to drive home the point that everything in life must be serious, Woody, in his infinite wisdom, has prescribed us a style of comedy often hated, misunderstood, and forgotten: the murder comedy a la Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux. I haven't laughed this hard at someone trying to kill another person since Preston Sturges's 1948 film Unfaithfully Yours, even though it's ultimately a much more understated English style of humor (very Comedy of Manners-ish.) As such, it doesn't surprise me that Irrational Man has been hated by most critics, since they are likely to fall into the trap of expecting that this movie will be one of the aforementioned tragicomedies, and thus simply think it fails to deliver. Instead, here Woody seems to find comedy in everything from Kant to sexism to suicide to faculty gossip, and as a consequence, the movie ends up as loose as his "early funny movies," unfortunately adding just another layer that might further confuse audiences. Essentially, if you don't find the satire quick you just won't understand what you're watching. On the actor side of things, Stone and Joaquin really kill it. It almost feels like they can turn the intensity up as easily as turning a knob, and there are three moments when you really get a sense of how far they can go.

This will certainly be on a list of Woody's most underrated movies in ten years time if the bad reception it gets doesn't slow down, and I hope that people will take the time to realize just what this movie is because I think they'd really have a good time watching it.

The philosophy professor Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix) arrives at the Braylin University with the reputation of alcoholic wolf. However he is a nihilist man living an existential crisis after the losses of his best friend in Iraq and of his wife that left him with a friend while he was helping people in New Orleans. The promiscuous Professor Rita Richards (Parker Posey) unsuccessfully tries to have sex with Abe. However he feels a platonic attraction by his brilliant student Jill Pollard (Emma Stone) and spends most of his leisure time with her as a friend. One day, they overhear a conversation about a corrupt judge in a diner and Abe secretly plots the plan of a perfect crime. Will he set his plan in motion?

"Irrational Man" is a film by Woody Allen where he blends his style with the idea of Hitchcock´s "Strangers on a Train". The lovely Emma Stone has excellent performance. The plan of Abe Lucas based on the principle that a stranger without motive could commit the perfect crime works very well until the commercial moralist conclusion. Instead of making a thought provoking amoralist conclusion, Woody Allen makes a convential ending for the disappointment of his fans. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Homem Irracional" ("The Irrational Man")

Basically, I'll watch any film that Woody Allen makes. That said, it doesn't mean I think all of his films are top rank. His best films blend comedy, psychology, and philosophy with a good storyline. His worse fall short in one of these areas. When I first started watching the film, I thought it had all the potential of some of his better films. A charismatic, somewhat famous, professor comes to a small college. His questionable reputation intrigues and titillates students and colleagues alike. The professor (Joaquin Phoenix )is in the throes of mid-life angst and burdened by the expectations others have of him. In an attempt to recharge his life, he heads down some questionable trails.

The psychological aspects of the plot evaporate into a crime drama. For a moment, the professor becomes a Raskolnikov-like character and I began to think the psychological aspect may once again come to the fore and make this an interesting movie. Instead, this potential plot twist is brushed aside and, sadly, the rest is more or less predictable.

The acting is good enough, though the romantic relationships among the characters are shallow and not well-developed, making them somewhat difficult to believe.

Woody Allen fans may find the film interesting enough, but don't expect another Midnight in Paris or a crime story as good as Manhattan Murder Mystery. If Irrational Man was more in keeping with its title, it would have been less predictable and more interesting.