Irrational Man

Woody light. Ein langsames und vorhersagbares Beziehungsverbinden der Figuren geht allmählich in ein interessanteres und für ein so schwerwiegendes Thema niedlich verspieltes Philosophieren über, das sich mit dem Sinn des Lebens, dem Recht zu urteilen und mit den Folgen einer Tat befasst. Die Szene, in der es ums Leben geht, ist nicht spannend, aber das sollte sie wahrscheinlich auch nicht sein. (17.08.2015)

Eine herrlich zynische Anekdote darüber, was alles die Lebensfreude zurückbringen kann. Woody Allen hat wieder mit Dostojewskis "Verbrechen und Strafe" gespielt. Es hat super geklappt und ich hoffe, dass wir Emma Stone in einem seiner nächsten Film sehen werden. Sie ist SO süß! Joaquin Phoenix hat mich mit der Art und Weise überrascht, wie er die Rolle des abgelebten Philosophieprofessors dargestellt hat. Ich hätte nicht gedacht, dass ich gerade ihm so eine Rolle glauben werde. Mein Versuch, das perfekte Verbrechen zu begehen, ist mir überaus gelungen. (14.10.2015)

Woody Allen zeugt erneut, warum er der Beste ist. In seinem traditionellen alljährlichen Programm wurde uns diesmal ein philosophischer Aufsatz über den Sinn des Lebens serviert, durchzogen von seinen traditionellen Witzen und Themen. Emma und Joaquin mit dem aufgeblasenen Bauch sind hervorragend. Ich bin zufrieden, auch wenn ich fairer Weise zugebe, dass Irrational Man nicht zu den TOP 10 meiner Lieblingsfilme von Woody Allen zählt. Nächstes Jahr auf Wiedersehen, ich bin gespannt auf Kristen und Blake unter Woodys Leitung. (02.08.2015)

Woody no longer even tries to disguise the fact that the whole story is merely an illustration of a particular intellectual concept and a pretext for philosophical discussion. In order to make his work easier, he alternately articulates his thoughts through two narrators (one of whom speaks to us from who knows where) and an infinite number of “walk and talk”/“sit and deliver” verbal exchanges. Other than the climax, which offers the film’s only funny moment, I’m trying in vain to recall a scene that is based not on what we hear, but on what we see (as beautiful as Khondji’s romantic shots of the setting sun are, they serve the narrative only minimally). The half-baked plot would have perhaps served better for one segment in a story cycle. The plot twists are so predictable (the only surprise lies in the choice of the murder weapon, as it is initially indicated that it could be something else) and, at the same time, implausible in the style of Hitchcock (but without a well-developed narrative structure that would draw us in and draw our attention away from their implausibility), and the plot is pushed forward so lazily that I felt as if I had spent a good three hours in the cinema. After a promising opening scene, the film turns into the tedious mush of an idea that Allen dealt with much better in his earlier films (Crimes and Misdemeanors, Match Point). In addition to its literary nature and very shoddy narrative, The Irrational Man is connected with Allen’s late-period work through the cliché of the irresistible masculine protagonist with whom all of the female characters immediately fall in love – sweet, but absolutely unconvincing (through no fault of the actresses). Despite that, the actors remain the only reason not to experience The Irrational Man in book form (if such a book existed). Woody would do better next time not to waste time with directing and not to torture viewers with a narrative devoid of suspense and surprise, instead putting his thought-provoking scenarios down only on paper. 55% (01.08.2015)

There was a time when I enjoyed Woody Allen's films solely for Woody Allen himself. However, that gradually changed. His affected character stopped entertaining me, and eventually, it really started to grate on my nerves. These days, I can still appreciate some of his movies, but the condition for a positive experience is his absence. This film met that basic requirement, and I quite enjoyed its philosophy of murder. Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone are great actors and deserve an above-average rating without a doubt. / Lesson learned: The perfect crime is like a perpetual motion machine or the elixir of life. (09.06.2022)