On the plus side, this is a nice idea. If philosophy & classics (Dostoevsky) is something you haven't bothered with so far, then this may be nice because it's a quick summary. Unfortunately, it feels like the script was then written in a hurry and not proofread by anyone. The philosophy side of things is shallow and predictable, the cheesy chirpy music every time something 'profound' happens is irritating, and Emma Stone's voice overs are uncomfortably scripted. The characters start off interesting, but then become standard at the end.And to top off, as a Woody Allen movie, it starts to feel a bit gross when he has a guy ignoring the woman of his own age and going for the young girl instead (despite first saying 'I won't go for you because it's not appropriate because you're too young').

Woody, once again, seems to be in a comfort area, which we are all tired of. We have seen, with this time, three times the same movie. At the end, the only reflection one can make is that he is making of himself a cliché, from every point of view. I will disagree to call this sequences a Trilogy or something similar, but a creative stagnation. With Match Point we watch a dramatic and delicate movie that evokes directly Dostoievski's Crime and Punishment, being a bit dangerous since Dostoievski is an overused topic to make things look more obscure and deeper. We had a second experience on screen about the same topic with Cassandraá Dream, without any additional or richer analytical purpose. The fresh air came with a comedy that focuses on the good side of the story, not anymore on the disturbed mind. Still, everything started to be boring since then. Now, we had with Irrational Man, a very good cast on screen, however any new inflection. He is becoming in a suffocating agent. I have to admit that Blue Jasmin and You Will Meet a Talk Dark Stranger were enjoyable since empathy attacks immediately the audience with this pathetic, bizarre and intimate protagonist. That could be an interesting narrative line to follow for Allen, so we still could believe that his sense of humor is accurate and binding, without dropping himself into this "philosophical lucubrations".

Woody! Woody! Woody! Not the most rational humanoid that ever existed, but one thing about legendary filmmaker Woody Allen you have to admit is that his ratio of movies per year is phenomenal- 1/1; yes, one movie per year. Allen's "Irrational Man" stars the not-so-rational actor himself Joaquin Phoenix as Abe Lucas, an alcoholic Philosophy professor who joins up as an adjunct professor at a Connecticut university. Abe has lost lust for life and is very uninspired. At the university, he meets several key players including a Science professor colleague named Rita Richards who lusts for Abe even though she is married. Abe also befriends one of his students named Jill Pollard who admires Abe and this Pollard also wants to pollute Abe's college morals, or lack there of. Allen directs and scribes "Irrational Man" quite well with infamous Woodyisms such as insecurity, jealousy, anxiety, and delirium. And even though it is not one of his classic movies, "Irrational Man" rationalizes itself as a pleasant, quirky viewing. Phoenix shines as Abe. Emma Stone was very good as Pollard, and the very underrated Parker Posey stuck her pleasant thespian pose as Richards. So come one man, give that "Irrational Man" a try. **** Good

The plot is highly relatable to Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" and "Rope". I hope that you can get the references, for it's funny once you realize that.Of course, it comes with the already expected woodyallenien soundtrack, background philosophy theories and, as if there could be a Woody Allen's without it, charm. It's ironic and morally intriguing. The great thinkers's thoughts laid all through the film are a nice presence.It's worth your time to watch, but don't expect much. It's not one of the director's gems.