Review of Irrational Man (2015) by Larry C — 10 May 2016

It's a rare pleasure when you go into a movie expecting one thing and then the movie delivers something entirely different and better. My expectations for IRRATIONAL MAN were based purely on its interesting cast and its reputation for being supposedly "lesser Woody Allen.

" To my extreme surprise, the movie delivered an enigmatic and thought-provoking tale with much on which to chew. It starts you off on uneven terrain, tonally, as the very early sections feel like the kind of light comedy that Allen has erred towards often in his recent years.

.. although many actual laughs, if that makes sense; by design, Allen seems to be using the first act to throw us off guard with his stereotypically light filmmaking style. We are made to question, "Is this really a comedy and we're just not getting it? Or is it something else?" We soon discover that the movie is not at all a straight comedy (it could possibly be called a satire, but I'd honestly really struggle to place fully in any genre), and that it has deep, existential concerns of the philosophical variety.

True, there's some intellectual wankery and fetishism on display (which, to be fair, can be found in many Allen movies), but there's a subtly mocking air of criticism this time out, which is kind of refreshing.

Joaquin Phoenix is absolutely tremendous in the film as a guy undergoing a severe breakdown of sorts, and the way he almost dispassionately sells his character's arc is extremely impressive. Emma Stone makes for a luminous leading lady, conveying great, if perhaps a bit shallow and surface-level (again, by design), intelligence along with a sort of girlish sense of infatuation; Phoenix gets the splashier role, but Stone's character has an equally strong arc heading into the story's third act.

It's a movie that's constantly engaging and somewhat remarkably feels like a breezy watch even as it deals with some ultimately quite difficult and dark concepts. IRRATIONAL MAN may be thought to be one of Allen's more minor entries, but I found myself truly entertained and compelled by it.