Woody Allen’s new film Irrational Man will keep you guessing

REVIEW: Woody Allen has waded into murky moral waters several times before in his films. This one passes muster purely on curiosity value alone.

Irrational Man (M)

Director: Woody Allen (Blue Jasmine)

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Parker Posey, Jamie Blackley.

Rating: ***

Murderously poised to teach himself a lesson

Those who have stayed the course through the long and prolific filmmaking career of Woody Allen will know full well he drops a wonky one every once in a while.

While Irrational Man is indeed an ungainly and flawed hybrid of mannered comedy and malcontent drama, it is not without its share of hard-earned merits.

A pot-bellied, washed-out Joaquin Phoenix stars as Abe, a pro-level philosopher looking to lift a sagging writing career with a teaching gig at a posh college.

New film ... Jill (Emma Stone) and Abe (Joaquin Phoenix) on set together.

Though famed for his outpourings on the human condition, Abe has fronted for work in less-than-human condition.

Drinking around the clock for the past few years has not helped. Neither has a secret bout of impotency, quite at odds with his famed reputation as a womaniser.

After hardly setting the halls of academia on fire with his lethargic classes, Abe looks as if he is on a fast track to a sacking.

Then comes a most unlikely turnaround. Together with his prize student Jill (Emma Stone), Abe gets word that a local corrupt judge is about to ruin the life of someone.

Unpredictable ... Rita (Parker Posey) and Jill (Emma Stone) in a scene from Woody Allen’s new film.

Abe applies some deep ethical analysis to the situation. He becomes a new and highly motivated man, excited by his findings.

Wouldn’t the world be a marginally better place if a terrible person like that judge was erased from it? Abe keeps his final answer from Jill, and decides to follow it through to the last letter on his own.

As a writer and director, Woody Allen had waded into these murky moral waters several times before. This one passes muster purely on curiosity value alone.

Though the dialogue is clunky and often emptily eloquent in the extreme, there is something quite unpredictable about Abe’s quest that keeps you wondering how it will all finish up.

Originally published as Woody Allen’s new film Irrational Man will keep you guessing