The meaning of the film Irrational Man (2015): explanation of the ending. In 2015, a dramatic detective film directed by Woody Allen was released. The meaning of the film Irrational Man was highly appreciated by fans of philosophical and scientific films. The picture harmoniously combines a love triangle, a “perfect murder”, reflections on the topic “crime and punishment” and intrigue. The film received mixed reviews from critics. But the audience received it warmly.
Description of the movie
The plot of the film Irrational Man describes the events taking place in the small American town of Rhode Island. The protagonist of the film is Abe Lucas, a philosophy teacher played by the charismatic Joaquin Phoenix. He recently moved to the city and is experiencing a psychological crisis due to constant reflection on the meaning of existence. The extreme degree of disappointment in life at one moment leads to the fact that the philosopher tries to play “Russian roulette” with fate right in front of the students.
The situation changes when the teacher strikes up a relationship with a quick-witted student, Jill Polland. Her role is played by Emma Stone. Realizing the delicacy of the situation, Abe manages to put the romance on hold, while remaining friends with the girl. At the same moment, the professor starts a relationship with a colleague at work – Rita Richard (actress Parker Posey).
Everything would be fine, but only:
- the teacher is married, although she is not happy with her marriage;
- meetings with the student continue;
- Jill has a boyfriend.
While on another date with Jill Abe, he accidentally overhears a story told by one of the patrons in a cafe. The court threatens to take her children away from her because her husband’s lawyer is friends with the judge in charge of the trial. And then the idea comes to the professor’s head that it will be better for everyone if some people are gone. And he chooses the judge as the target for the future crime.
The whole picture is accompanied by frequent reasoning of the protagonist on various philosophical problems. Such a directorial move is very justified. After all, the viewer begins to think almost from the first minutes of viewing what is the meaning of the film Irrational Man.
By carefully planning all the details, and after the commission of the crime by hiding all traces, Abe manages to confuse the police for a while. As a result, the other person is blamed. The professor made only one mistake – he was very frank with the student. It was not difficult for Toy to compare all the facts, to calculate and hand over the real criminal.
Interesting! Detective Irrational Man is reminiscent of other Woody Allen creations. “Match Point”, “Crimes and Misdemeanors”, “Moonlight Magic”. All these films meaningfully combine the philosophical ideas “a la Dostoevsky” on the topic of perfect deeds and consequences.
Ending and hidden meaning
The hidden meaning of the film Irrational Man lies in the title of the tape. On the one hand, the main character (aka anti-hero) positions himself as an intelligent member of society. Others share the same opinion. However, when he was visited by a fixed idea, irrationality began to be traced in the behavior of the character. Thinking that all the crimes are carefully planned, he did not take into account the obvious things:
- outsiders could see him changing glasses of juice;
- the lack of evidence collected by Jill;
- cyanide theft was easily motivated by a desire to commit suicide. Moreover, a whole group of students previously witnessed the game of “Russian roulette”.
On a note! The end of the film Irrational Man evokes a feeling of an allusion to Dostoevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment. The picture even has a reference to the work. When the girl finds a volume marked by Abe, in which he philosophically explains the motive for the murder.
So the meaning of the ending of the film Irrational Man demonstrates a considerable amount of illogicality in the behavior of the main characters. Jill, who throughout the tape supported Abe’s ideas, sincerely rejoiced when the judge died, but in the finale she sharply became moralistic. A professor who made serious miscalculations that a rational person would not allow.
The ending of the film Irrational Man seems to hint at the conclusion that all people are, to one degree or another, illogical and inconsistent in their actions. Examples of characters in the picture are a vivid confirmation of this fact. Even an educated professor, constantly thinking about the meaning of being, is not able to follow a rational line of behavior to the end.
