by Peter J. O'Connell
Irrational Man.
Released: July 2015. Runtime: 95 mins. Rated: R for some language and sexual
content.
Some movies written and directed by Woody Allen are “Woody
Allen movies.” You know, those films in which intellectual and professional
types involved in awkward relationships—say, a Brooklyn Jew and a Wisconsin
WASP or an older man and a younger woman—engage in witty dialogue or become
involved in amusing situations.
Other movies written and directed by Woody Allen seem to
have had ghostly collaborators—say, the Marx brothers or Federico Fellini or
Ingmar Bergman or adventure serialists of the 1930s and '40s or Alfred
Hitchcock—because they replicate so well the characteristic themes and
techniques of these auteurs. If, for
example, Allen's Match Point (2005)
suddenly had appeared on screens without any credits or provenance information,
one might readily have thought it directed by Hitch from beyond the grave.
Irrational Man, the latest
movie written and directed by Woody Allen, also seems to have had the portly
British genius as co-auteur. In it, Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix), a famed but
now floundering philosophy professor, arrives in Newport, R.I., to teach at a
small college. Abe's reputation for masterful exposition of existentialist
philosophy has the college community eager for contact with him. Abe, however,
is burned out. He has overanalyzed life to the point where it has lost all
meaning for him. And now, as he says, “So much philosophy is just verbal
masturbation.”
Nonetheless, Rita Richards (Parker Posey), a chemistry
professor, seeks a passionate relationship with Abe despite his anomic response
to life and his anemic response to her overtures. A student, Jill Pollard (Emma
Stone), is also smitten with Abe but claims that her interest is platonic
rather than physical. She is
passionate—but about philosophy.
Abe's interest in life revives when he and Jill overhear a
conversation about a cruel decision by a local judge, a judge who is later
found murdered by means of poison. Discussions about self-defined morality,
etc., between Abe and Jill take on exciting new dimensions for Abe. His reborn
liveliness is amusingly depicted by his increasing desire for big breakfasts.
The discussions inspire Jill to attempt to solve the judge's murder. What she
discovers is hard for her to accept “philosophically.”
Joaquin Phoenix, unexpectedly paunchy and brooding in
appearance, turns in, as expected, a fine performance. Parker Posey, dubbed by
critics “queen of the indies” for her frequent appearances in such films, gives
her usual competent performance. The real standout here, though, is Emma
Stone—wide-eyed, with cascading chestnut hair, and lithe-limbed in shorts and
sleeveless blouses—she embodies both youthful innocence and feminine allure.
And when she starts to do detective work, she is as convincing as any
hardboiled cop out of film noir.
Irrational Man is
intriguing and enjoyable in plot and characterizations, and its cinematography
and use of Newport locations are superb.
“Footnote” to the
film: The popular book Irrational Man
(1958) by William Barrett, a professor of philosophy at NYU, has been described
as “the introduction to existentialism for the English-speaking world.”
No comments:
Post a Comment