Maybe the lesson is that you can't make one movie per year and expect them to be all top notch. Although some will be brilliant, many will flunk, and some others will be massive failures, it's pure statistics. Unfortunately, this one sits strongly in the latter category. Even when he is not at the top of his game, Woody Allen manages to make movies that are entertaining, passable or at least watchable. Not this one. After 95 minutes of the first bars of "The In Crowd" repeated endlessly, it is a relief to get to the end titles. Many other reviewers have already pointed out the paper thin, miscast characters, the non-existent script or the laughable cop-out ending. But it gets worse, this movie fails even at technical aspects, which has usually been one of Woody Allen's strong suits. Awfully lit, badly framed scenes and appalling photography contribute to make this a very sad and painful cinematic experience.
One can't fail to notice how Woody's stories have evolved over the course of his directing career from being set in working class Brooklyn to the ultra-rich one percenters in The Hamptons or Martha's Vineyard. Not that there's anything wrong with that, in fact, that is probably the trajectory that Woody Allen's life itself has followed. The problem is that while his previous characters were usually quite likable quirky simpletons or neurotic intellectuals, they have now become unbearably spoiled, cartoonish, vacuous and pretentious ivy leaguers. Who can possibly like, or even feel the slightest interest for such despicable people? I would like to emphasize that this has nothing to do with their affluent lifestyle; you can make strong, interesting characters out of billionaires. The Great Gatsby being a case in point.
Will still watch a Woody Allen movie over a blockbuster any day, and I hope he continues making them for many years. But Irrational Man was a terrible misfire which does him no honor - skip it and you will be missing nothing.
One can't fail to notice how Woody's stories have evolved over the course of his directing career from being set in working class Brooklyn to the ultra-rich one percenters in The Hamptons or Martha's Vineyard. Not that there's anything wrong with that, in fact, that is probably the trajectory that Woody Allen's life itself has followed. The problem is that while his previous characters were usually quite likable quirky simpletons or neurotic intellectuals, they have now become unbearably spoiled, cartoonish, vacuous and pretentious ivy leaguers. Who can possibly like, or even feel the slightest interest for such despicable people? I would like to emphasize that this has nothing to do with their affluent lifestyle; you can make strong, interesting characters out of billionaires. The Great Gatsby being a case in point.
Will still watch a Woody Allen movie over a blockbuster any day, and I hope he continues making them for many years. But Irrational Man was a terrible misfire which does him no honor - skip it and you will be missing nothing.