According to Entertainment Weekly, Woody Allen went to such great lengths to guard the plot details of his latest, Irrational Man, he even hid all but 20 pages of the script from its co-star Parker Posey. But now the trailer is released, and that veil of secrecy can be lifted: Woody Allen has made a movie about a neurotic intellectual in midlife crisis who finds new purpose thanks to the attentions of a beautiful young woman.
There is also light jazz on the soundtrack.
Changing things up so that Irrational Man can get its own separate IMDb page, Joaquin Phoenix has been brought into the fold as Allen’s latest stand-in, and as the exhausted philosophy professor at its center, he seems to be turning in another in a string of great performances as lonely burnouts. This time the women who find his existential nattering and grumpy impotency irresistible include fellow first-time Allen player Posey and Allen’s new favorite ingénue, Emma Stone. They orbit around him on beautifully sunlit beaches and campus lawns, gazing at him with awed admiration as he talks about being depressed.
At some point, it’s possible the movie will reference Ingmar Bergman.
Irrational Man will debut at Cannes in May, before opening in theaters on July 17. At least 10 reviews will use the word “charming.”