Irrational Man Review

Irrational Man Review

This image more or less sums up the rest of the review

There’s something strangely cathartic about being disappointed by a movie, as I learnt after a preview screening of Irrational Man. You know the old saying "quality over quantity"? Well, Woody Allen appears to hold a slightly different philosophy, "abundance of quantity; eventual quality". So it goes with Woody’s yearly output, for every barn-stormer like 2013's Blue Jasmine, there's a film as soufflé-light as this meandering comedy-drama. For all its intellectual posturing on the nature of morality, it truly is shocking just how little point his latest misfire serves beyond squandering knock-out turns from his charming leads on a frivolous comedy caper that’s entirely devoid of both laughs and suspense. For a long-time Allen apologist such as myself, it was a sorry state indeed.

Joaquin Phoenix is Abe Lucas, a tormented philosophy professor in need of direction whose misguided “righteous” deeds threaten to undermine the foundations of his relationship with a naïve student (the adorable Emma Stone). It’s Parker Posey, though, who tears up the screen and leaves the whole film miles behind her as a self-destructive teacher. If it weren’t for her ferocious performance and the occasional witty aside, there would be very little to recommend Irrational Man. As with most Allen pictures, the story exists to show off his knack for the interplay between overeducated intellectuals, rather than create dramatic tension in its own right. Not that Woody’s lost his touch for dialogue exchanges, but it’s baffling how limited his work comes across this time around. How is it even possible that the same man made cinema’s greatest rom-com, Annie Hall, just 30 years prior?

It’s second-tier Allen on all fronts. His actors’ chemistry fizzles without ever sparking, the conversations feel stilted, rather than free-wheeling and the tone never settles between dark caper and absurdist melodrama. Recommended only for the most ardent of Woody fans or those who will discover his previous great works through this mediocre one.

Five-Word Verdict: Liking it would be irrational

Score: 2/5

Irrational Man is out in UK cinemas on Friday 11th September