Woody Allen’s latest comedy “Irrational Man” was met with very mixed reviews out of Cannes earlier this spring. THR reported the film received a bout of polite two minute applause and that’s all it could muster. Our own review from writer Jessica Kiang was arguably the most vituperative, hitting Allen with a D-grade and censuring the film for what the writer saw as tiresome sameness and disheartening gender politics.
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But a Woody Allen film is a Woody Allen film, a yearly tradition, and we’ll all have to see it for ourselves regardless. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Parker Posey and Jamie Blackly, “Irrational Man” centers on a university philosophy teacher (Phoenix), his pupil (Stone) and a mystery element within. Here’s the official synopsis:
Woody Allen’s IRRATIONAL MAN is about a tormented philosophy professor who finds a will to live when he commits an existential act. Philosophy professor Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix) is at rock bottom emotionally, unable to find any meaning or joy in life. Abe feels that everything he’s tried to do, from political activism to teaching, hasn’t made any difference. Soon after arriving to teach at a small town college, Abe gets involved with two women: Rita Richards (Parker Posey), a lonely professor who wants him to rescue her from her unhappy marriage; and Jill Pollard (Emma Stone), his best student, who becomes his closest friend. While Jill loves her boyfriend Roy (Jamie Blackley), she finds Abe’s tortured, artistic personality and exotic past irresistible. Even as Abe displays signs of mental imbalance, Jill’s fascination with him only grows. Still, when she tries to make their relationship a romantic one, he rebuffs her. Pure chance changes everything when Abe and Jill overhear a stranger’s conversation and become drawn in. Once Abe makes a profound choice, he is able to embrace life to the fullest again. But his decision sets off a chain of events that will affect him, Jill and Rita forever.
One could suggest Allen has found a new female muse in the terrifically charming Emma Stone, but his upcoming projects suggest he’s going to keep exploring new actors he hasn’t worked with. Now shooting is Allen’s next project starring Steve Carell, Blake Lively, Parker Posey, Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeannie Berlin, Corey Stoll, Anna Camp, Paul Schneider, and more, and that picture will be followed up by an six-part Amazon mini-series that already has the filmmaker stressed out.
Already released in the U.S. on July 24th and still playing in limited release, the picture is now opening overseas and this new international trailer has lots of new footage. Watch it below and check out a slew of new photos too.
