Movie Review: ‘Irrational Man’

IRRATIONAL MAN (R)

Woody Allen is one of our most prolific filmmakers, and while he is greatly beloved for his comical offerings, I’ve always found myself more drawn to his morality tales. In fact, “Crimes and Misdemeanors” and “Match Point” are two of my very favorite Allen efforts. “Irrational Man” charts similar terrain, and while it isn’t as strong as either of those pictures, there’s still something transfixing and darkly funny about the fashion in which Allen’s latest movie unfolds.

In “Irrational Man,” Joaquin Phoenix is Abe Lucas, a self-loathing, hard-drinking philosophy professor who has seemingly lost his lust for life. Upon taking a job at a small Rhode Island college, Abe finds a symbiotic bond with Parker Posey‘s Rita Richards, an unhappily married colleague. As much as Abe enjoys Rita’s company, even her less than subtle sexual advances can’t seem to bring him out of his existential funk. Enter Jill Pollard (Emma Stone), a bright, doe-eyed student who is immediately attracted to Abe’s brilliance, sensitivity, and generosity. It is also clear that Jill wants to cure this tormented man of his “woe is me” attitude. Abe clearly enjoys his attractive student’s company, but he continues to keep her at arm’s length for fear that a professor-student relationship would do neither of them any good.

In typical Woody Allen fashion, “Irrational Man” features intellectual characters walking around and waxing philosophical. Abe himself preaches to his students the importance of realizing there’s a big difference between theory and real-life situations. This is a notion that opens his own eyes after he and Jill eavesdrop on a random woman’s heartbreaking conversation with her friends while eating lunch at a diner. I won’t spoil the specific details of this conversation here in this review, but what I will say is that it’s at this point in “Irrational Man” that the plot is truly set into motion. Let’s just say that this randomly overheard conversation prompts Abe to make an impulsive decision that dramatically awakens him from his funk.

Joaquin Phoenix is a compelling actor, there’s no doubt about that. As Abe, he brings a calm intensity to the role, but he also brings intelligence and a dark sense of humor in equal measure. Emma Stone is cute, sexy, and bubbly as a student who simply wants to experience life to the fullest. There were moments when I was bothered by Jill’s selfish and dishonest behavior—particularly when her relationship to her boyfriend was concerned—but Stone is outstanding in this role, and she really does light up the screen. As a fittingly daft woman who finds a kindred spirit in Abe, independent film veteran Parker Posey hits all the right notes as the hapless Rita. Posey has been all too absent from film as of late, and I hope that “Irrational Man” reminds viewers just how wonderful she can be.

After “Irrational Man” ended, a friend of mine half-jokingly suggested that Woody Allen’s latest offering would have been far more relatable had it taken place in community college. Having said that, he still enjoyed the film for what he called “A bunch of privileged, pompous, unlikable phonies getting exactly what they deserve.”

True, there is an aura that permeates many of Allen’s movies that tends to rub some folks the wrong way, but it is this very aura that makes “Irrational Man” all the more entertaining. There are many joys to be discovered throughout this picture, particularly in the second half as Abe playfully and somewhat arrogantly acts like he can get away with anything. “Irrational Man” doesn’t quite stick the landing, but again, this is a movie well worth seeing.

Love him or hate him, there’s no doubt that Woody Allen is a filmmaking icon. Not every picture he’s made has been a home run, but with over 40 films to his credit, I’d say he’s batting an amazing percentage, and “Irrational Man” is a solid double.