IRRATIONAL MAN by Woody Allen

The high quality of WOODY ALLEN's latest outing IRRATIONAL MAN inevitably makes one think that claims the great American filmmaker has "lost it" were always either biased or overrated.

A college philosophy professor with a reputation as a wild adventurer and womanizer has seemingly lost his characteristic flair and an overall reason for living. Despite receiving the attentions of two beautiful women, one a fellow lecturer who dreams of him being the man who will get her out of a dull marriage and the other a student of his who is fascinated by his intellect but mostly interested in saving him from his perpetual sadness, the real turning point in his life comes out of the blue as he develops an obsession with undertaking a dark and irrational act. 

IRRATIONAL MAN is a film in which WOODY ALLEN plays with many psychological themes of morality, and of course irrationality, that have been central to hsi entire body of work. It also continues the trend of the great American filmmaker alternating comedic outings with more serious ones. Nevertheless, what is progressively interesting about the way in which he works, is that he is gradually aiming to blend the two sides of his creativity and in IRRATIONAL MAN arguably more than ever. Here, he is seems very willing to play with an audience's general perception of what a WOODY ALLEN film would be like by making use of a deceitful light hearted tone in a film that is actually dealing with quite a dark character study and in which there are practically no real jokes - unless we consider underlying irony or sarcasm, which we don't. 

A reoccurring element that further supports this reading is the film's use of THE IN CROWD by RAMSEY LEWIS, a cool and chic jazz soul tune that seems to have little to do with the unfolding events and the character development itself - almost like when MARTIN SCORSESE revolutionised the crime drama by making use of oldies in its sountrack.

Much like SCORSESE in fact, the multiple voices in the narration offer a more personal and enriching alternating dominant voice in the film that makes the insightful dealings with the psychological undertones all the more intriguing. On top of this, the dialogue may not be as instantly recognisable as ALLEN's other more celebrated works, but it is very genuine and true. All the while, the film's pacing is widely unrushed, which means that there is plenty of time for the viewer to connect with the film and ponder on the relentless developments.

To top it off, as with most WOODY ALLEN films, the cast delivers excellent performances. JOAQUIN PHOENIX's reclusive embodiment of male disenchantment takes form in the shape of a man so plain and average looking that it makes it almost strange to see him a cinematic object of desire for the two women. At the same time, it is also understandable. It is because his plain image is untouched by his very own aura, that seems to have come right out of the blue. And together with his well spoken nature it allows the women to picture him as the embodiment - or catalyst - for fantastic visions of the future they have entertained for a long time. 

In the process, this idealisation leads to disappointment once the man reveals to be human and made of flesh and blood, but that is a predictable process with predictable highs and lows. EMMA STONE has perfected her soap and water image, and the tinge of selfishness of her character is all the more powerful and impactful as a result, while the beautiful PARKER POSEY's near delusional romanticism is almost tragically heartwarming. 

What is certainly true of IRRATIONAL MAN is that it is a film that immediately seems less impressive than its long lasting effect proves it to be. This is due to its realist and deceitful simplicity is actually an incredibly thought provoking feature that on par with BLUE JASMINE in quality and screenplay maturity, especially as far as true character depth is concerned.