Parents' Guide to

Irrational Man

By S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Woody Allen collegiate/crime drama fun, if not innovative.

Movie R 2015 94 minutes
Irrational Man Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 16+

Based on 3 parent reviews

age 15+

A half baked rough draft of a narcissistic protagonist

This film inspired me to turn it off in the first 5 minutes. I powered through the whole thing and found that the only redeeming qualities are sincere performances by Phoenix and Posey. The film centers Abe Lucas and has Stone's and Posey's characters talk about Lucas for the entirety of the film. So although it seems that the film is about Stone's journey it is not. The film clearly has Abe Lucas as the main narcissistic protagonist and all conversations throughout the film are about Lucas. The film feels like a half-baked rough draft that was written in a hurry the night before it was due. Stone's ingenue is uninteresting and unbelievable and the normalization of Abe's predatory behavior says more about the director and screenwriter of the film. A waste of resources.
age 16+

This title has:

Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3):
Kids say (1):

Woody Allen repeatedly explores the same themes, but he's more successful in some films than others; in IRRATIONAL MAN, the filmmaker ends up -- just barely -- on this side of triumph. He draws out engaged performances from the three main actors: Phoenix practically oozes joy when Abe turns surprisingly gleeful, and Posey nearly steals the movie playing a madcap professor in the throes of a midlife crisis. (Or perhaps she's just bored with her status quo.)

The movie is best when the actors do and not say (via one of Allen's staples, the good old voiceover) and when we're left to revel in the summery charms of Rhode Island, where Allen filmed. Still, there's an eloquence missing that's evident in the director's classics, such as Crimes and Misdemeanors (to which this can be compared, given the crime) and the more recent Midnight in Paris. Perhaps it's time to return to NYC?

Movie Details

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