Joaquin Phoenix plays a philosophy professor who’s low on life when he moves to a new college. He spends much of the rest of the movie interacting with student Emma Stone (and a few scenes with Parker Posey), philosophizing and moralizing. When he makes a drastic decision, it changes him for the better but develops into a moral dilemma. As expected from a Woody Allen film, the actors are all good, but his endless early chatter makes staying around a challenge. The last third becomes more compelling, but you gotta sit thru the rest for the payoff. Oh yes, this is not one of Allen’s comedies: not one laugh in site.

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