Irrational Man (2015) - Blu-ray Review

Details: By Loron Hays; 13 January 2016

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Irrational Man - Blu-ray Review

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Writer/director Woody Allen continues to make moviemaking look easy. While a shade darker in tone than his last few releases, Irrational Man is still 100% Allen in its themes and execution. The title sequences, the jazz, the impeccable cast, the mood; it’s all here and like a fine wine, it’s bound to age well.

Irrational Man is not a comedy, mind you, but the situation – featuring a philosophy professor who alleviates the weight of his own existence by performing a mercy killing originally inspired by an overheard conversation at a diner – is vintage Allen musings; it’s the stuff of fate and chance and Allen, even if it is (ultimately) a bit slight, nails every second.

Featuring a clever performance from Joaquin Phoenix as a tortured professor of philosophy and Emma Stone and Parker Posey as his two (for lack of a better word) muses, Irrational Man is designed to be a discussion piece to keep coffee shops open until the wee hours of the morning. Do people even talk about movies anymore in an engaging fashion? Or do we merely tweet our reactions? If you do conversate, then this is the movie for you to “jaw” over with your friends.

Picking up where Crimes and Misdemeanors left off and matched only by the skill in Match Point, Allen reunites with Stone (Magic in the Moonlight) and assembles a morality tale more about chance than about random, stupid luck. Allen loves this stuff, mind you, and it shows. He once again teams up with Iranian-French cinematographer Darius Khondji and the results of the six-week shoot in Newport, Rhode Island are strong.

From the engaging lessons about philosophy and crimes of justice/passions to the fawning of Abe Lucas’ students, Irrational Man sets its sights on matching injustice with natural consequences when the fates are challenged by the relatively luckless caught within the webbing of black comedy.

Irrational Man is definitely modern-day Allen, but the writer/director still proves his art to be very, very rational indeed.

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MPAA Rating: Rated R for some language and sexual content
Runtime: 95 mins
Director: Woody Allen
Writer: Woody Allen
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Parker Posey
Genre: Drama | Mystery
Tagline: Irrational Man
Memorable Movie Quote: "I couldn't remember the reason for living, and when I did it wasn't convincing."
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Official Site: http://www.sonyclassics.com/irrationalman/
Release Date: August 7, 2015
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: January 12, 2015
Synopsis: On a small town college campus, a philosophy professor in existential crisis gives his life new purpose when he enters into a relationship with his student.

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Irrational Man - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - January 12, 2015
Screen Formats: 2.40:1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Discs: 25GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD); UV digital copy; Digital copy
Region Encoding: A

Irrational Man is the seventh straight Woody Allen film to be released by Sony Pictures Classics and the 1080p transfer – shot on 35mm – is an warmly inspired release. Allen and his repeat cinematographer Darius Khondji (Midnight in Paris, To Rome with Love) make the most of their Rhode Island setting. They compose the 2.40:1 widescreen frame most tastefully: with sunny beach shots of scenic locales. The soundtrack, of course, consists of jazz, to which no other music compares for Allen. Sony's Blu-ray does a fairly good job of presenting these components. The picture is very vivid and the locales are crisp. Black levels are strong throughout. The 5.1 DTS-HD master audio soundtrack is agreeable.