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Title: Irrational Man (2015)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Joaquin Phoenix | ... | Abe Lucas | |
| Emma Stone | ... | Jill Pollard | |
| Joe Stapleton | ... | Professor | |
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Nancy Carroll | ... | Professor |
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Allison Gallerani | ... | Braylin Student |
| Brigette Lundy-Paine | ... | Braylin Student | |
|
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Katelyn Semer | ... | Braylin Student |
| Betsy Aidem | ... | Jill's Mother | |
| Ethan Phillips | ... | Jill's Father | |
| Jamie Blackley | ... | Roy | |
|
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Leah Anderson | ... | Student Giving Directions |
| Paula Plum | ... | College President | |
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Nancy Giles | ... | President's Assistant |
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Henry Stram | ... | Cocktail Party Guest |
| Geoff Schuppert | ... | Cocktail Party Guest | |
A new philosophy professor arrives on a small town campus near Newport, Rhode Island. His name, Abe Lucas. His reputation : bad. Abe is said to be a womanizer and an alcoholic. But what people do not know is that he is a disillusioned idealist. Since he has become aware of his inability to change the world, he has indeed been living in a state of deep nihilism and arrogant desperation. In class, he only goes through the motions and outside he drinks too much. But as far as sex is concerned, he is just a shadow of himself now: depression is not synonymous with Viagra! For all that, he can't help being attracted to one of his students, pretty and bright Jill Pollard. He enters into a relationship with her which remains platonic, even if Jill would not say no to more. The situation remains unchanged for a while until, one day, in a diner, Abe and Jill surprise a conversation that will change the course of their lives dramatically... Written by Guy Bellinger
Woody has such a full body of work that's stretched for decades, there is hardly anyone to compare him to. That being so, it's even interesting to think about people's reactions when a new one of his movies is released. After watching a new one, the most vocal people tend to try to rank it either at the very top or very bottom of his movies. I think that does the movie-watching experience a disservice.
There's very much to like about this movie and just as many ways to watch it. For one, it's like a classy fun witty and romantic Hitchcock movie, albeit transposed coolly and beautifully to the present-day. For two, Khondji's cinematography is an absolute afternoon delight. For three, the three leads are brilliantly cast and played. For four, it's a fun movie about an ethical experiment. For five, it's a fable-like tale of good and evil, safe and daring. For six, it's a very intense story of girls and women, and the very harrowing gulf between. For seven, it fits majestically within possibly Woody's most noble ambition: to have the same movie be as good a comedy as it is a tragedy as it is a story of triumph, in other words, it's an ambitious script. It's an ambitious script also because of the shifting of narrator throughout, and the way each shift pulls at our sympathies. I was laughing at the same time that I was biting my nails and trying to remember to breathe.
We're truly blessed to be able to watch these when they're new! Future generations will envy us, the way we might envy people who were there to see the new Hitchcock or even the new Chaplin.