Woody Allen, who turned 80, released his 46th film, Irrational Man, last year. The film still continues Woody Allen's dark humor and dialogue style. Like 2005's "Match Point", "The Unreasonable" continues Woody's exploration and exploration of crime themes. As an American film director with European temperament, Woody Allen has always had a desire to make "serious films" like Ingmar Bergman, so in his comedies, we can always find some not so "comedy" bridge section. This is even more apparent in "The Wrong Man".
As we all know, Woody Allen likes to discuss philosophical issues such as love and hate, sin to death, etc. in his films, and in "The Unreasonable", Woody simply created a depressed character with masochistic tendencies. Philosophy professor image. "The Unreasonable" is fundamentally a film about the meaning of life, about how a university philosophy professor named Abel Lucas solves his existential crisis. Woody explained that philosophy is not an empty word, but a real experience in life.
Abel is a "victim" of life. At the age of 12, his mother committed suicide by drinking bleach, his wife and best friend betrayed him together, and his friend as a war correspondent died in the war... All kinds of unfortunate experiences made Abel depressed and withdrawn. He wants to change reality and save the world, but there is nothing he can do. Colleague Rita, who is also a university professor, has a similar life experience and worldview to Abel. She is actually a continuation of Abel's past life. The student Jill has a completely different world view and different life experience from his, which is why she was able to enter the world of Abel. A combination of talent and misfortune, Abel represents a certain romantic fantasy for women, and both Rita and Jill are drawn to him, who, as Jill puts it, "is so charming and so vulnerable." However, neither sexual satisfaction nor career success could bring any comfort to Abel. He couldn't find a reason to live, and even "occasionally remembered, it couldn't convince me."
Abel is also an absolute idealist. Idealists often go to extremes in their solutions to their predicaments, and Abel chose the murder of an unjust judge as his soul redemption. This decision made Abel suddenly feel the meaning of life, "planning a perfect murder made me feel alive". It's very reminiscent of Travis in Taxi Driver, both of whom think they've done the right thing without the slightest guilt. As Woody Allen said, "Religious people believe that people who do good deeds will go to heaven after they die, and people who do evil deeds will go to hell after death. This seems to have no rational basis to support it, which is crazy, but It's because they believe in it that they make their lives better. If they didn't have that belief, life would be full of anxiety and restlessness, and very empty." Abel believed in what he was doing despite his moral and legal violations In order to make the world a better place, this absolute idealist has also become an "irrational person".
Unlike the criminals in "Match Point" who end up getting free, the philosophers in "The Unreasonable" end up paying the price with their lives. Woody Allen is good at using coincidences to enhance the dramatic tension of films. In the entanglement with Jill at the end of the film, Abel finally fell off the elevator after stepping on the flashlight he had won for Jill. Also a symbol of luck, the edge ball in "Match Point" becomes the flashlight in "The Unreasonable." Abel's death is not Woody Allen doing a moral trial, but a reflection on the possibility of life - which is precisely the charm of Woody's films.
Philosophers often express their admiration for Woody Allen as a great contemporary philosophical figure. Perhaps no director has expressed his philosophy with such humour and ease as Woody. "The Unreasonable Man" may not be his best work, but we can still feel the constant creative energy released by this 80-year-old man.
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