Irrational Man

"Woody Allen takes a heap of existential woes and swirls them around like a single-malt in this black rom-com, using the mind of morbid philosophy professor Abe Lucas as the whiskey glass. It’s a mentality-exposing role that demands excellence, and where Blue Jasmine had the flawless Cate Blanchett, Irrational Man has the dynamic Joaquin Phoenix."

"Woody Allen contemplates the perfect murder (again) in a darkly funny, intellectually rigorous campus comedy."

"There’s something sloppy and sluggish about Irrational Man, even by Allen’s uneven standards."

"Allen has worked wonders in the past with superficially similar moral tales, but this one’s a sketchy rehash."

"It's a tongue-in-cheek mystery which is neither quite scary and serious enough to be suspenseful, nor witty or ironic enough to count as a comedy."

"After the delightful, if frothy Magic in the Moonlight, Irrational Man feels like a step down for the prolific Woody Allen."

"Allen has crafted a suspenseful mind-teaser that might feel too much like an intellectual exercise if Phoenix and Stone didn't infuse it with such raw humanity."

"Can be seen as one of Allen's cleverest films, but even the satisfying tidiness of its ending contributes to the sense that we're watching a simulation rather than a story."

"Stands among the better entries of Woody Allen's fourth-act career phase."