Irrational Man
At the small-town fictional New England college campus of Braylin, philosophy professor Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix) is experiencing an existential crisis. He is depressed, sees no meaning in his life, and drinks excessively. Despite this, he immediately catches the eye of two women: chemistry professor Rita Richards (Parker Posey), and Jill Pollard (Emma Stone), one of his students. Jill has a serious boyfriend and lives with her parents. Rita lives with her husband, but is dissatisfied with her marriage. Abe chooses to sleep with Rita but is careful to have only a platonic relationship with Jill. Abe's depression becomes even more apparent when he fails to have an erection during his first sexual experience with Rita.
At lunch, Abe and Jill overhear a conversation; a woman says she will lose her children in a custody battle because of a seemingly unethical judge in family court. Abe is troubled by the injustice and, without telling Jill, decides to help the woman by murdering the judge. Abe reasons he's unlikely to be caught because he isn't involved in the case and, therefore, won't be suspected. Abe steals a key to the college's chemistry lab from Rita where he procures cyanide. He then discovers one of the judge's routines: an early morning jog followed by sipping a cup of orange juice on a bench in the local park. Abe puts the poison in an identical cup and exchanges the cups surreptitiously on the bench while the judge is reading a newspaper. He subsequently dies from cyanide poisoning. Abe feels reborn upon learning of the judge's death. He tells himself that he has finally done something worthwhile with his life by ridding the world of one evil man. Consequently, his mood improves dramatically. Abe and Jill's friendship then blossoms into a romance but Jill says nothing to her boyfriend, Roy (Jamie Blackley). However, Roy strongly suspects Jill is in love with Abe and breaks up with her.
Despite Abe's careful planning, Jill and Rita, who are friendly, begin to suspect Abe's involvement in the murder after piecing together a few clues, such as the missing key and Abe's unexpected presence in the chemistry lab where a student spotted him. Rita decides that even if he is guilty, she wants to leave her husband and live with Abe in Europe.
Consumed with curiosity, Jill enters Abe's house through an open window while he's out and finds incriminating notes. Jill confronts Abe and accuses him of the murder. Abe then admits his guilt and explains his motive. Jill decides to break off their relationship but promises not to turn him in. However, after an innocent man is accused of the crime, she presses Abe to go to the police, warning him that otherwise she will report him. Abe, who has only recently started enjoying life, is determined to stay out of jail. He attempts to kill Jill by pushing her into an elevator shaft, but, instead, he stumbles backward and falls down the shaft to his death. Jill then begins repairing her life. Her first step is to reconcile with Roy.
The film ends with Jill gazing out to sea while standing on a beach and reflecting on her experiences with Abe.
murder