Irrational Man

Plot synopsis:
At the small-town fictional New England college campus of Braylin, philosophy professor Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix) is experiencing an existential crisis. He is depressed, sees no meaning in his life, and drinks excessively. Despite this, he immediately catches the eye of two women: chemistry professor Rita Richards (Parker Posey), and Jill Pollard (Emma Stone), one of his students. Jill has a serious boyfriend and lives with her parents. Rita lives with her husband, but is dissatisfied with her marriage. Abe chooses to sleep with Rita but is careful to have only a platonic relationship with Jill. Abe's depression becomes even more apparent when he fails to have an erection during his first sexual experience with Rita.
At lunch, Abe and Jill overhear a conversation; a woman says she will lose her children in a custody battle because of a seemingly unethical judge in family court. Abe is troubled by the injustice and, without telling Jill, decides to help the woman by murdering the judge. Abe reasons he's unlikely to be caught because he isn't involved in the case and, therefore, won't be suspected. Abe steals a key to the college's chemistry lab from Rita where he procures cyanide. He then discovers one of the judge's routines: an early morning jog followed by sipping a cup of orange juice on a bench in the local park. Abe puts the poison in an identical cup and exchanges the cups surreptitiously on the bench while the judge is reading a newspaper. He subsequently dies from cyanide poisoning. Abe feels reborn upon learning of the judge's death. He tells himself that he has finally done something worthwhile with his life by ridding the world of one evil man. Consequently, his mood improves dramatically. Abe and Jill's friendship then blossoms into a romance but Jill says nothing to her boyfriend, Roy (Jamie Blackley). However, Roy strongly suspects Jill is in love with Abe and breaks up with her.
Despite Abe's careful planning, Jill and Rita, who are friendly, begin to suspect Abe's involvement in the murder after piecing together a few clues, such as the missing key and Abe's unexpected presence in the chemistry lab where a student spotted him. Rita decides that even if he is guilty, she wants to leave her husband and live with Abe in Europe.
Consumed with curiosity, Jill enters Abe's house through an open window while he's out and finds incriminating notes. Jill confronts Abe and accuses him of the murder. Abe then admits his guilt and explains his motive. Jill decides to break off their relationship but promises not to turn him in. However, after an innocent man is accused of the crime, she presses Abe to go to the police, warning him that otherwise she will report him. Abe, who has only recently started enjoying life, is determined to stay out of jail. He attempts to kill Jill by pushing her into an elevator shaft, but, instead, he stumbles backward and falls down the shaft to his death. Jill then begins repairing her life. Her first step is to reconcile with Roy.
The film ends with Jill gazing out to sea while standing on a beach and reflecting on her experiences with Abe.

Tags: murder

Review:
I think it does, often quite well, and it makes a sort of cap to an unexpected, thematic trilogy of movies, which I'll get to in a moment.In Irrational Man it starts out like what seems to be a story of a philosophy professor (Phoenix) caught in despair, while an eager, bright student (Stone) starts to fancy him.
It turns this professor's life around, albeit with a rather dark twist.By Hitchcockian it's easy to throw that label around, but this is a filmmaker who has previously used a scene from Shadow of a Doubt (I forget which movie, but I remember characters watching it in one of his films), and now has some elements taken from it.
Phoenix, meanwhile, gets a lot of this man's despair, and then his odd joy too - though Phoenix may not seem like the most spot-on actor to show 'energy' in the later half of the film, he is still completely there for what this character requires.What I liked about Irrational Man, even with some of its familiarity in the Allen world - professor with a younger student romantically, questions of morality, what it means when PURE luck really defines what happens for people - is that it was genuine about how its characters saw and changed with their views on the world, and that on its own you get wrapped up in the question of "Will he really get away with this?" To be sure, this question was asked with greater intellectual rigor in Crimes & Misdemeanors, and Match Point had an even tougher, bleaker view of what it means for people to get ahead in the world no matter who stands in heir way.
On the other hand again, it's an existential comedy that takes itself very seriously, or a semi-romantic and dramatic love story that has some light touches (and that ending!) Irrational Man isn't great, but it's very good, exceeding any expectations I could've had, in large part thanks to a cast and, by the way, some really skillful and beautiful direction on the whole (and the warm cinematography, all shot in Newport, Rhode Island).
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.
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'.
How often do you expect me to believe that this professor drinks from his flask throughout the day without falling asleep or having someone say 'Hey dude, stop doing that, you're on a college campus'.I wish I cared for the characters, but between all the abrupt cuts from one scene to completely different scene without ever feeling grounded, and the abundance of very lukewarm dialogue - 'philosophy is just verbal masturbation' (wow how witty for a philosophy professor to say) - i just never felt like I knew who the characters were, or wanted to know them.
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.
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..
In Irrational  Man, Phoenix plays a college professor who is new to the campus where  Stone's character studies, although his reputation proceeds him, as  students and lecturers alike are abuzz with excitement over his  arrival.
I regret being unable to elaborate on this part of the story and dwell on a few examples to clarify my comments, as this will give away too much of the surprising plot twists.All in all, the many positive reviews did put me on the wrong foot and convinced me to finally go and see a Woody Allen movie, in spite of my resolutions many years ago to do that never ever again.
Rational Irrational Man. Basically, I'll watch any film that Woody Allen makes.
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.
Woody Allen has made two masterpieces, 1989's "Crimes and Misdemeanors" and 2005's "Match Point", and a reasonably good film, 2007's "Cassandra's Dream", about people who commit murder and have to live with it.
"Irrational Man" follows that theme with the story of Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix), a depressed, alcoholic philosophy professor who decides to murder a corrupt judge in order to serve the "higher moral good".
Once the deed is done, Abe feels he has done the world a favor, and is reborn: he feels alive for the first time in years, and finds love again with an adoring student (Emma Stone) and a married colleague (Parker Posey).
Phoenix is given little to do but mope, while Stone - in her second bad Allen film after 2014's goofy-in-a-bad-way "Magic in the Moonlight" - has such a paper-thin character and such terrible dialogue that she can't help but come off as rehearsed and mechanical.
The story, issues, characters, setting (Newport, RI) have no resonance whatever in the present, and the clever "moral issue" was all covered infinitely better in "Crimes and Misdemeanors." A 13-year-old making a movie in the style of Woody Allen would be far more interesting.
Of course I discovered--on checking--that Woody was indeed the writer and director of the film.Joaquin Phoenix plays Abe Lucas, a college professor overcome by impotence in a broad sense of the word.
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.
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".
It should be great actually.But the plot never really gets going, the characters not strong enough to fully hook me in, so it becomes an average film rather than a good one.Emma Stone is the best thing in it, and dazzles in every scene.
Oh, and liking Woody Allen, Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone would help.Joaquin Phoenix plays Abe Lucas, a philosophy professor who has signed on to teach a summer course at a small-town college.
Small town philosophy professor Abe Lucas sets his mind to planning and carrying out "the perfect crime", something that he is able to rationalize, but could only be seen by other people as the action of a completely irrational man.This is not your typical Woody Allen film.
As the plot becomes almost surreal, audience members may find themselves as unsure about what to think as the characters are about what to do."Irrational Man" features a typically strong Woody Allen script with typically interesting performances from his actors.
The film follows Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix), a disgruntled alcoholic of a philosophy professor who has recently taken a job in the philosophy department at Braylin, a small-town New England college.
If you watch Woody Allen films you know that they are different and they showcase people with their struggles of life and finding love and happiness.
When classes start Abe also has his eye on Jill(Emma Stone) a young and bright student who has wonder and thought of poetry, life, film, talk, and love.
The story develops a lot of suspense in a very subtle way with the usual surprise ending that I like in Allens movies.
This is a superior film, that is held sharply by Allen, while the performances are top-notch!'Irrational Man' Synopsis: A tormented philosophy professor (A Remarkable Joaquin Phoenix) finds a will to live when he commits an existential act.'Irrational Man' isn't about whats right or whats wrong.
It is derivative of other Allen films like 'Crimes and Misdemeanours' and 'Match Point', which were both philosophical and dark (while the former had a perfect mix of comedy and drama and succeeded brilliantly at both) and explored the themes much better.
In the 21st Century, Woody keeps churning out films, and loyal admirers like me keep seeing them, but the magic is gone.Most of the action of Irrational Man takes place at a small private liberal arts college in Rhode Island.
Once you start thinking that your life has meaning and your actions are important - voilà, you are happy and enthusiastic, even though those actions are pointless (or even morally wrong).I love when titles of the films by Woody reveal a lot about the essence of the film (remember "Whatever Works", "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger", "Match Point", "Anything Else").
Revisiting one of his favorite themes – life is meaningless – this latest provides a funked-up burned-out philosophy professor as our tour guide.We feel for the three lead actors: Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, and Parker Posey.
Jill (Ms. Stone) is the talented and gregarious student, and daughter of two professors, who should be entirely too smart to fall for anyone as self-loathing and careless as Abe. Drawing the shortest of all short straws is Ms. Posey as the stereotypical middle-aged woman seeking excitement somewhere other than her stable husband.Evidently quoting Kant is designed to provide depth to character and story, and trick us into thinking existentialism is the only topic worthy of discussion  as long as it occurs while sucking down beer and nursing a flask.
Now plenty of women are ready to make him appreciate life, most notably Jill (Emma Stone), one of his bright students, and because this is a Woody Allen movie, his lover.Naughty college prof gets away with courting her in front of the entire community, another Woodman fiction or wish fulfillment.
"Irrational Man" (2015 release; 97 min.) brings the story of Abe Lucas (played by Joaquin Phoenix).
To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.Couple of comments: first, in life, there are few certainties: death, taxes, and like clockwork every year a new movie from writer-director Woody Allen.
Last but not least, "Irrational Man" was the last film from long-time Woody Allen producer Jack Rollins, who recently passed away.
It's obvious five minutes into 'Irrational Man' that it has that 'Woody Allen feel', not surprising since he both wrote the screenplay for and directed this 2015 film.
Ironically, having an actor similar to Woody Allen was what was needed to make this movie go from just passable to really great ~ perhaps someone like the quirky Owen Wilson playing the lead role of Abe Lucas instead of Joaquin Phoenix.
Quite frankly, nobody does fractured characters better than the great Woody Allen, but it would have been incredibly creepy seeing him have a sexual relationship on screen now at the age of 80.As well, I think Wilson would have played opposite college student Jillian "Jill" Pollard (Emma Stone) much better than Phoenix did.
As the plot grew increasingly dark, it needed someone with Woody Allen's brilliant timing and inflections to make the scenes jump off the screen, and not the mundane offerings of the non-dimensional Phoenix.All in all, 'Irrational Man' was not great, but not terrible either.
It is the aftermath of the murder that makes this film really interesting.Using the device of alternating voice-over, the story starts with world-weary philosophy professor Abe coming to teach in a small town university and striking up a platonic friendship, as least initially, with bright and admiring student Jill.
Emma Stone as His infatuated Student, and Parker Posey as a Faculty Member are in Close Proximity and it affects Them in different ways.The Film is unusually Dry for Woody Allen and the Pacing never varies.
Irrational Man lobs these themes back and forth, with style and confidence, but the film just does not develop the necessary details in its narrative and characters to make it riveting drama.￼In fact, Mr. Allen's film can be summed up in this pointed question: Does an evil act truly remain evil if its end result is good?
Yet the biggest irrational flaw I had with the film was not so much that specific act and its consequences, but his self-destructive deeds prior to that action which seemed readily acceptable behavior within a college community (openly guzzling booze from a flask on campus, playing a game of Russian Roulette at a party, bedding your student...Yet there are no red flags for dismissal?) Totally unrealistic.￼That said, Abe's cynical view of the world clouds his reason (and the director's) and leads him to ponder the thrill of the kill.
The director also relies on "irrational" plot contrivances rather than realistic turns of events to further the action, resulting in a less-than-satisfying ending.With all of its intellectual rants of Kant, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche, its influence of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, and a little of Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train, Woody Allen's Irrational Man never successfully brings all of its engaging elements together.
Woody Allen's 2015 film, Irrational Man, brought the writer/director back to America, but not back to New York.
Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone, Irrational Man follows a philosophy professor who determines that the only way to give his life meaning is to take a decisive action, despite the moral consequences.
Suddenly, Abe secretly decides that the only way to give his life meaning is to end the life of another.Much like Match Point, Irrational Man didn't "feel" as much like a Woody Allen film as I am used to.
-Irrational Man is a 2015 American mystery drama film written and directed by Woody Allen, and starring Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Parker Posey and Jamie Blackley.
The site's consensus reads, "Irrational Man may prove rewarding for the most ardent Joaquin Phoenix fans or Woody Allen apologists, but all others most likely need not apply." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 53 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
The characters start off interesting, but then become standard at the end.And to top off, as a Woody Allen movie, it starts to feel a bit gross when he has a guy ignoring the woman of his own age and going for the young girl instead (despite first saying 'I won't go for you because it's not appropriate because you're too young')..
"Irrational Man" seems to have been grossly misinterpreted by critics who saw in this movie Allen striving for profundity and then falling short when, in fact, this is one of Woody's best and brightest comedies in years.
Starts Off Great But Falls Apart During the Third Act. Irrational Man (2015) *** (out of 4) Depressed and life-less philosophy professor Abe (Joaquin Phoenix) gets a new job where he continues to preach how pointless life is.
That all changes when they overhear a story about a corrupt judge and Abe gets the idea of killing him, which gives him a new outlook on life.Woody Allen's IRRATIONAL MAN starts off terrific and for the first fifty minutes or so it seemed like we were ready for another classic from the legendary screenwriter- director.
There were still a few very good moments scattered throughout and there's an obvious wink to Hitchcock that works.IRRATIONAL MAN seems to be getting beaten by a few critics but I thought the film starts off well enough and features such a great performance by Phoenix where it's very easy for me to recommend it..
Allen's "Irrational Man" stars the not-so-rational actor himself Joaquin Phoenix as Abe Lucas, an alcoholic Philosophy professor who joins up as an adjunct professor at a Connecticut university.
When he overhears a woman in a diner with her friends that a no good judge is likely to give custody of her children to her ex-husband, Abe becomes alive, he plans to murder the corrupt judge, a rational act to make the world a better place and as he is a stranger, he has no motive and hence above suspicion.Once the deed is done, life becomes more complicated, Abe is all intellectual arrogance but now he has Rita and Jill circling round him with suspicions.However this film is not Allen at its best.
What I saw of Irrational Man on the surface that was being portrayed in trailers is nothing compared to what was being passed off as the real plot of this movie.Phoenix give such an magnificent performance I feel that it's more his vehicle than a Woody Allen movie.
A combination that screams Woody Allen!I actually didn't read any of the critics review, but as people talks seems like they didn't enjoyed the movie at all...
Though Woody Allen's film centers upon a professor of philosophy — the epitome of rationality — it's titled Irrational Man. Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix) shows how carrying the rational to its extreme becomes madness.
Woody Allen seems to have made Irrational Man for philosophy lovers: Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, Dostoevsky, and Hannah Arendt's thesis dance in this film.