Directed by Woody Allen (Blue Jasmine, Midnight in Paris, Hannah and Her Sisters, Annie Hall) and starring Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line, The Master, Gladiator, Her, The Village), Emma Stone (The Help, Birdman, The Amazing Spider-Man, Magic in the Moonlight, Friends with Benefits) and Parker Posey (Superman Returns, Grace of Monaco, Scream 3).
Drama, 96 mins, 12+
Irrational Man sees Emma Stone work with Woody Allen again follwing the recent collaboration in last year's Magic in the Moonlight; this time round her character is altogether different. And this is a different Allen film too; yes, the trademark script and dialogue are there, and the jazz-influenced music Allen so much likes, but there are differences too.
This is not a character study; yes the characters are built up and their personalities laid bare for the audiences to examine in minutae, but this is somethign altogether different. Joaquin Phoenix plays Abe, a philosophy professor who has attractive Jill (Emma Stone) as one of his students, and one of the brightest at that.
He has a colourful background and she has a steady boyfriend, a perfect setting for a doomed relationship. They converse and explore the works of the world's greatest philosophers, with Abe seeing a fresh and original enquiring mind in Jill, one that is not afraid to question and challenge, even his writings.
But then things start to spiral out of control...
Woody Allen has written and directed some real gems in recent years, from Blue Jasmine to Magic in the Moonlight and Midnight in Paris, and Irrational Man is right up there. But what you see in the trailers is only part of the story, in reality just the first half of the film, the setting and build-up to what happens in the second half. Both Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone deliver sensational performances as the leads.
