Irrational Man
Sony Pictures Classics
Reviewed by: Tami Smith, Guest Reviewer for Shockya.
Grade: B
Director: Woody Allen
Screenwriter: Woody Allen
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Parker Posey, Jamie Blackley
Release Date: July 17, 2015
Sir Nicholas George Winton, known for saving 669 children on the Czech Kindertransport, once said: “…Why did I do it? Why do people do different things? Some people revel in taking risks, and some go through life taking no risks at all.”
Woody Allen’s story of Abe and Jill is the story of some of us and all of us. Very few of us are willing to take a bold action and help others when needed, but most of us will take the moral high road and will never cover up a crime.
Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix), a philosophy professor in a small college town in Rhode Island is tired of bulshitting all day long to his graduate students. He hates his purposeless life, the parties and the nothingness of the sleepy enclave so much that he takes to drink, helping himself to an elegant silver whiskey flask every now and then, while not being able to write books or “score” with the ladies the way he used to.
Help comes from his student Jill Pollard (Emma Stone) and a fellow faculty member Rita (Parker Posey). Both will do anything to help Abe, even leave their boyfriend/husband in the process. But alas nothing could “unblock” Abe until one blessed day when he gets “the calling”. He and Jill find out that one Judge Spangler knows and favors a husband in a custody battle between a divorced couple. The wife will be losing custody rights over her children. Noble Abe decides to “help” the poor woman anonymously. After Judge Spangler drops dead following a jog and some orange juice, Abe is invigorated, his writing and sexual appetite are in full swing once again. There is one little problem: the wrong person may go to jail for killing the judge and Jill, who may be an accessory to crime herself, is not going to keep quiet about it.
Woody Allen directed Irrational Man in his usual slow tempo, in a screenplay which is character-driven, but I found the dialogue lacking sharpness and humor. For better crime dramas directed by Allen you may want to view Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Match Point (2005) or Cassandra’s Dream (2007).
Irrational Man was shot by Darius Khondji and utilizes beautiful outdoor locals in Newport, Rhode Island, making use of The Fastnet Pub. Costume Design by Suzy Benzinger is lacking and the lead characters are outfitted in dull, colorless, and shapeless cloths.
Rated R. 96 minutes. © Tami Smith, Guest Reviewer
Story: B
Acting: B+
Technical: B+
Overall: B
