Woody Allen’s latest vehicle conveys the filmmaker’s self-deprecating ways and recurrent fascinations with death and murder. Joaquin Phoenix is suitably cast as the nihilistic and life-hating philosophy professor Abe Lucas. Following Allen’s dreary and forgettable Magic in the Moonlight from last year–which was about, well, who can remember?–Emma Stone once again assumes the role of the young muse and plays the brainy college student Jill, who predictably falls for Abe at once. On paper, and especially when Abe starts entertaining a newfound obsession around the pursuit of committing the perfect murder, Irrational Man is classic, vintage Woody Allen, complete with musings and monologues on life (some bordering on trite), mostly exchanged between a frequently self-loathing intellectual and a fresh, frisky, and infinitely competent love interest who’s undoubtedly too good for and miles ahead of him. Thankfully, in the case of Irrational Man, this formula makes for a pretty engaging drama with passable comedic moments and a redeeming ending.
Set in a fictional Rhode Island college named Braylin, Irrational Man begins with much speculation amongst the film’s characters on Abe Lucas’ arrival to the philosophy department. Rumors abound about his alcoholism, and also, of course, brilliance, spreading like wildfire alongside stories of his recently concluded marriage, his grief over watching a friend get blown up in war, and what have you. Defining the study of philosophy as “mental masturbation” in one of his initial classes, Abe quickly sets the tone of a familiar Woody Allen character early on: brilliant on one hand, yet a complete poseur on the other, with an utter inability to come to terms with the everyday hurdles and pleasures of life as part of his humdrum existential crisis.
Finding a rare friend in Jill–to much protest from Jill’s jealous boyfriend Roy (Jamie Blackley)–and a casual affair with the married, fellow professor Rita (Parker Posey), Abe settles into a satisfying routine that doesn’t seem to alter his gloomy outlook on life. Somewhere between displaying a bleak act to his students in playing Russian roulette with a loaded gun and repeatedly turning down Jill, who confesses her deep love for him, the opportunity for a more exciting life knocks on his door. Overhearing a woman’s grim legal situation in a café while with Jill, he plots to murder the judge causing this woman much pain.
With the arrival of this dimension, Irrational Man immediately finds new blood, as does Abe in his monotonous life. With a dose of excitement, intrigue, and mischief, Irrational Man convincingly builds an entertaining story about a self-absorbed criminal’s mental process. We have seen this film before from Allen; parts of it reside within Crimes and Misdemeanors and Match Point, other parts in Manhattan Murder Mystery, and even Manhattan in terms of the romance between Abe and Jill. But this doesn’t necessarily lessen Irrational Man’s appeal, where crime presents itself as an option formed randomly than being the result of a passionate affair. Sure, the film is mostly a recycling of themes and situations Allen knows so well, set against playfully jazzy tunes, charming outdoors, and richly set-decorated interiors. Yet it also is a lot less chaotic in its silliness (unlike some of his misjudged comedies like To Rome with Love) and more focused on its story, like some of the better examples of his late work. And from where this Woody Allen fan is sitting, this warrants Irrational Man a passing grade in the tirelessly prolific auteur’s filmography.
