There is nothing comic at all about this latest Woody Allen movie, yet it feels very Woody Allen anyway. Basically, it tackles heady philosophical questions that deal with morality and finding meaning in life. Philosophy professor Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix) comes to a small liberal arts college in Newport Beach, where he is welcomed with much anticipation. A renowned scholar and author, he is reputedly both brilliant and brooding, an irresistible combination for many of the females on campus. He arrives depressed and drunk, and largely disinterested in life. He questions the meaning of existence, in particular his own. When he sees an opportunity to do something he deems meaningful, the act unleashes a series of events that he cannot control, challenging both his moral fiber and his notions of man’s supremacy over his destiny. The two women in his life, Emma Stone as his infatuated student and Parker Posey as a no-nonsense biology professor, represent the duality of existence: moral idealism and hedonistic self-interest.
Should You See It? Yes, I found it interesting, despite trite depictions of the adoring student, the brooding academic, the doting and adolescent boyfriend, and the hardened older woman. —D.W.
Viewed at Landmark Plaza Frontenac cinema