By now it has been well established that Woody Allen is the most hit-or-miss filmmaker of our time. When he hits his mark we get sharp, witty, and sometimes magical character studies. But when he shoots wide the results are often dull, plodding, or simply vainglorious exercises in nothingness.
At 79 years-old Allen continues his practice of churning out one movie each year. There’s something to admire about that. It is also admirable that he can still write and direct his films on his own terms. But the problems become obvious when you examine the collective quality of his work particularly in his later years. The sheer lack of consistency is glaring which leaves me wishing he would dump his annualized obsession.
“Irrational Man” is a perfect example. It’s another clumsy and self-important mess of a film that feels like a handful of ideas thrown together and then connected by line after line of narration. It’s also Allen in full pseudo-intellectual mode with steady injections of existential thinking and human philosophy (“Irrational Man” is also the title of a popular philosophy book by William Barrett). Unfortunately none of Allen’s musings offer an ounce of weight to a movie in desperate need of it.
The meandering first act introduces us to Abe Lucas (played with waffling interest by Joaquin Phoenix). He’s a new philosophy professor at Braylin College. Wallowing in his own existential crisis, Abe a miserable, brooding recluse but still not without his fans. Rita (Parker Posey) is an unhappily married fellow professor who is instantly smitten with Abe. The two develop a quick and self-serving relationship but even it doesn’t pull Abe from his emotional mire.
Things slowly begin to change for Abe as he grows closer to one of his students Jill played by Emma Stone (Yep, again we have Woody Allen creepily exploring the ‘older man and younger woman’ territory). At first she seems like a philosophy groupie but the two eventually become friends despite Abe’s emotional lethargy. Jill begins slowly chipping away at Abe’s walls. One serendipitous encounter with a troubled young mother later, and Abe has found a new purpose in life and his relationship with Jill turns romantic.
I won’t give it a way, but after about 40 minutes of blathering the plot’s direction makes an about-face and heads in a completely different and oddly intriguing direction. As absurd as it is, the plot turn does inject the film with some much needed narrative energy. Even it isn’t handled perfectly but it does give these characters more to do than just represent Allen’s self-reflections through long inflated conversations.
The new story angle isn’t enough to save “Irrational Man” from its plethora of problems. Even Woody Allen’s direction seems unsure of itself and several creative choices simply don’t work. Take the overuse of the Ramsey Lewis piano riff. It goes from catchy and stylish to boring and repetitive simply because Allen is constantly using it. There is also a surprising visual torpidity that is obvious throughout the entire film. The look of the movie is as bland and generic as anything Allen has ever done.
For all the promise the film teases and for any potential that may be there, ultimately “Irrational Man” comes across as paper-thin. There are also a number of indicators that this may have been a terribly rushed production. Whatever the reasons, perhaps now is the time for Allen to buck this yearly movie thing and concentrate on giving us one more of those truly magical experiences.
VERDICT – 2 STARS
keithandthemovies.com 
I’ll take a mediocre Woody Allen film over anything else as I’ve seen all of his films with the exception of this one and the one that is coming next.
I actually think this one falls slightly below mediocre. So many good ingredients but such a baffling result.
Never cared much for this one. Despite a stellar cast, the film itself felt paper thin.
Yes it did. And did it feel rushed to you? As if there wasn’t time given to actually putting together an interesting story?
It did! It was like Woody Allen wanted to ask interesting questions, but didn’t want to take the time to set them up.
Exactly. The movie really suffers due to it.
Nice writing, Keith. Torpid. I love that word. I’m a Woody fan, but I do agree with you that his one-a-year exercise doesn’t equate with quality. The best cast in the world won’t save a poor script.
Thanks Cindy and you’re so right. A bad script is a bad script no matter the talent of your cast. Such a good example of that here. This should have been a lot better. I firmly believe there is a good story hidden somewhere. It just didn’t make it on the screen.
I think there were good intentions behind this movie. Sadly, they never realized.
Yep. I think there is an interesting idea behind the film. But I don’t know if Woody was rushed due to his own self-imposed annual release thing or what. This one needed a lot more time to put together.
Still haven’t caught up on this one, but disappointed to hear it’s so-so Allen at best. A shame…I guess there’s no guarantee the quality level overall would improve if he made one every two years, but you have to wonder! I’ll take the bad ones as long as the occasional Blue Jasmine or Midnight In Paris pops up.
True, there is no real guarantee. But this one stood out to me as feeling incredibly rushed. So many things deserved more detail and not just in the story but also in the direction. To me this one just felt aimless. There’s a good idea behind it but too much time is spent wandering around doing basically nothing. I dunno, just a frustrating movie. I would be anxious to hear your thoughts on it.
Good review Keith. It’s not Woody’s best, but the cast is still pretty great.
The cast is good but none could save it from its overwhelming lethargy. Phoenix didn’t seem the slightest bit interested.
Yeah I wish Allen gave as less but better – I mean he just mass produces those flicks and replicates plot elements from previous movies. The only thing here I really liked was the soundtrack which used the same groovy tune Casino did
As I mentioned the tune was catchy but for me it was waaay overused. After about the 30th time I was tired of hearing it.
This sounds like one of his lesser efforts. Great review though Keith as usual.
Thanks Vinnie. Sadly it is a lesser effort. Just not much to hold your attention.
That’s a shame because the cast assembled is very good.
It is a good cast. With that you would thing the film would be better. Woody didn’t give them enough to work with.
Maybe his next outing can be more successful.
Woody’s allowed a misstep here and there, I suppose. I may wait until this hits blu ray for a rental. Nice write up, Keith!
It is available for rent now. Give it a look. You may like it. I really struggled to see what Woody was going for.
Yeah I didnt particularly like this one either. I didnt like how absurd it got and I wasnt ever a fan of the performances or the story. Disappointing. But hopefully we’ll get a better Woody Allen movie this year. Solid review.
The performance really weren’t that good, were they? Phoenix seemed completely uninterested. It just seems that this film should’ve been a lot better than it was.
He did. Phoenix is such a fantastic actor and when he’s uninterested you know something is very wrong.
So true.
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