Irrational Man (film)
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Woody Allen |
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| Written by | Woody Allen |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Darius Khondji |
| Edited by | Alisa Lepselter |
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| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics |
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Release date
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95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $11 million |
| Box office | $27.4 million |
Irrational Man is a 2015 American mystery drama film written and directed by Woody Allen, and starring Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Parker Posey and Jamie Blackley.
The film was released on July 17, 2015, by Sony Pictures Classics in a limited release, later expanding wider. The film was the last produced by Jack Rollins, who had produced Allen's films since the 1980s, before his death in June 2015.
At the small-town fictional New England college campus of Braylin, philosophy professor Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix) is experiencing an existential crisis. He is depressed, sees no meaning in his life, and drinks excessively. Despite this, he immediately catches the eye of two women: chemistry professor Rita Richards (Parker Posey), and Jill Pollard (Emma Stone), one of his students. Jill has a serious boyfriend and lives with her parents. Rita lives with her husband, but is dissatisfied with her marriage. Abe chooses to sleep with Rita but is careful to have only a platonic relationship with Jill. Abe's depression becomes even more apparent when he fails to have an erection during his first sexual experience with Rita.
At lunch, Abe and Jill overhear a conversation; a woman says she will lose her children in a custody battle because of a seemingly unethical judge in family court. Abe is troubled by the injustice and, without telling Jill, decides to help the woman by murdering the judge. Abe reasons he's unlikely to be caught because he isn't involved in the case and, therefore, won't be suspected. Abe steals a key to the college's chemistry lab from Rita where he procures cyanide. He then discovers one of the judge's routines: an early morning jog followed by sipping a cup of orange juice on a bench in the local park. Abe puts the poison in an identical cup and exchanges the cups surreptitiously on the bench while the judge is reading a newspaper. He subsequently dies from cyanide poisoning. Abe feels reborn upon learning of the judge's death. He tells himself that he has finally done something worthwhile with his life by ridding the world of one evil man. Consequently, his mood improves dramatically. Abe and Jill's friendship then blossoms into a romance but Jill says nothing to her boyfriend, Roy (Jamie Blackley). However, Roy strongly suspects Jill is in love with Abe and breaks up with her.
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