MOVIE OF THE WEEK #2 (8/7/15): IRRATIONAL MAN
 |
| "So tell me... How much did you love me in the movie Her? Like a lot, or totally?!" Jill (Emma Stone) talks to her philosophy professor-slash-lover (Joaquin Phoenix) in a scene from writer/director Woody Allen's latest dramedy, IRRATIONAL MAN. Credit: Photo by Sabrina Lantos © 2015 Gravier Productions, Inc. courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics. |
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Parker Posey, Jamie Blackley, Ethan Phillips, Betsy Aidem and Tom Kemp
WRITER(S): Woody Allen
DIRECTOR(S): Woody Allen
WEB SITE: http://sonyclassics.com/irrationalman/
60 SECOND PLOT SUMMARY (OR AS CLOSE TO THAT TIME AS ONE CAN MAKE IT): The latest from writer/director and admitted philosophy fan Woody Allen, Irrational Man stars Joaquin Phoenix as Abe Lucas, a philosophy professor who has essentially lost his will to live. Arriving fresh on the scene at the small East Coast university that is the fictional Braylin College, Abe is man whose reputation precedes him, leading to both his fellow faculty members and the student body intrigued by his presence.
This includes Rita Richards (Parker Posey), an unhappily married science professor who is ready to get in bed with Abe from day one even if he has little interest in sex or the opposite sex at all. Then again, that's not really deterring Jill Pollard (Emma Stone) from becoming infatuated with him as well, even though she has a steady, loving boyfriend in the form of Roy (Jamie Blackley). Just as Rita does for a little while, Jill convinces Abe to go out and try to have fun after sensing something is wrong with him ... And oh how right she is that something is wrong.
You see, one day hanging out in a café with Jill, Abe overhears a woman complaining about a judge (Tom Kemp) who is ruining her life in a custody case essentially because he's friends with her ex's attorney. And for Abe, a man who lives as he teaches, the chance to do an existential act reinvigorates his will to live ...
How that affects the lives of everyone else, however, remains to be seen ...
This includes Rita Richards (Parker Posey), an unhappily married science professor who is ready to get in bed with Abe from day one even if he has little interest in sex or the opposite sex at all. Then again, that's not really deterring Jill Pollard (Emma Stone) from becoming infatuated with him as well, even though she has a steady, loving boyfriend in the form of Roy (Jamie Blackley). Just as Rita does for a little while, Jill convinces Abe to go out and try to have fun after sensing something is wrong with him ... And oh how right she is that something is wrong.
You see, one day hanging out in a café with Jill, Abe overhears a woman complaining about a judge (Tom Kemp) who is ruining her life in a custody case essentially because he's friends with her ex's attorney. And for Abe, a man who lives as he teaches, the chance to do an existential act reinvigorates his will to live ...
How that affects the lives of everyone else, however, remains to be seen ...
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? Die hard Woody Allen fans; Parker Posey fans; philosophy professors who man use the film in future classes
WHO WON’T (OR SHOULDN'T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? People who don't like films where the characters over explain things in an overly chatty fashion; Phoenix fans who prefer his characters to be more vibrant; Stone fans who will not appreciate seeing her play a bit of an aloof college students; anyone looking for a film that is more substantial than it existential itself.
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? Irrational Man isn't a bad film ... But it's also far from a great one. Much like the long career Stephen King has enjoyed in writing books that have become movies, for every Carrie or Shining you're bound to get the occasional Maximum Overdrive or Thinner (although truth be told, I don't mind the last 20 minutes or so of Thinner and Maximum Overdrive scared the crap out of me as a kid due to that big rig with the gremlin face on it).
What Irrational Man has going for it (other than Allen's name and two well-known leads) is a strong performance from an underused Posey that helps hold the film together coupled with a classic "whodunit" nature of sorts (even though you can't figure out the ending if you pay enough attention). What doesn't work that well for it, however, is the fact the film has some much verbiage that you almost feel as if they are talking you through the movie instead of letting you watch it and a story that is very basic in both nature and execution. It's the type of story that feels more like a writer/director's first effort instead of their near 50th. Despite the best efforts of the cast, the story itself feels like diet Woody Allen or someone trying to do their best imitation of a Woody Allen film, which is NOT what one would imagine he was going since he is Woody Allen.
Other than that, there's really not too much else one can say about Irrational Man unless you really want to debate the philosophical thought that fuels Abe, whether or not he is as the title suggest a rational or irrational individual based upon his actions and how they relate to what he teaches, etc. Part of me really wants to believe that's what Allen wanted to inspire audiences to do in watching the film, but the plodding pace and heavy-handedness in which he delivers the story makes what could have been an interesting exploration of those ideas an afterthought for the sake of delivering a linear yet familiar story.
And that may be the most irrational thing about Irrational Man as a whole.
What Irrational Man has going for it (other than Allen's name and two well-known leads) is a strong performance from an underused Posey that helps hold the film together coupled with a classic "whodunit" nature of sorts (even though you can't figure out the ending if you pay enough attention). What doesn't work that well for it, however, is the fact the film has some much verbiage that you almost feel as if they are talking you through the movie instead of letting you watch it and a story that is very basic in both nature and execution. It's the type of story that feels more like a writer/director's first effort instead of their near 50th. Despite the best efforts of the cast, the story itself feels like diet Woody Allen or someone trying to do their best imitation of a Woody Allen film, which is NOT what one would imagine he was going since he is Woody Allen.
Other than that, there's really not too much else one can say about Irrational Man unless you really want to debate the philosophical thought that fuels Abe, whether or not he is as the title suggest a rational or irrational individual based upon his actions and how they relate to what he teaches, etc. Part of me really wants to believe that's what Allen wanted to inspire audiences to do in watching the film, but the plodding pace and heavy-handedness in which he delivers the story makes what could have been an interesting exploration of those ideas an afterthought for the sake of delivering a linear yet familiar story.
And that may be the most irrational thing about Irrational Man as a whole.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
Comments
Post a Comment