Joaquin Phoenix
Josh Brolin
Owen Wilson
Katherine Waterston
Reese Witherspoon
Benicio del Toro
Jena Malone
Maya Rudolph
Martin Short

Paul Thomas Anderson

148 mins.
Comedy, Crime, Drama
December 12, 2014

Rated R for drug use throughout, sexual content, graphic nudity, language and some violence. (MPAA)

Paul Thomas “P. T.” Anderson’s “Inherent Vice,” adapted from the Thomas Pynchon novel of the same name, captures the spirit of 1970s L.A. (Inherent vice references the deterioration of objects due to the instability of their components. It’s a natural occurrence that, essentially, comes with the territory.) It has the look, sound, and dialogue of that place and time. It also moves to a rhythm that matches that era.

As with all things Pynchon, this is an acquired taste. The script is jam-packed with all sorts of references that many won’t understand. Really, you need to have lived this life or studied it to get it. Otherwise, know that you’ll be watching a subculture that seems authentic yet removed from your experience. That’s just like reading a Pynchon novel.

Anderson is the appropriate writer-director for this. His style lends itself to off-kilter whimsicality. He gets the mostly crass humor, which may not make you laugh: As with all the rest of it, it depends. He’s great at evoking particular moods that provide the unifying force of his films. Sometimes he nails it (“There Will Be Blood”); sometimes he doesn’t (“Magnolia”). This film lies somewhere in between – much closer to “Magnolia,” though. But make no mistake, Anderson has been faithful to Pynchon. The meandering and incoherence are on purpose. Take it or leave it.

Joaquin Phoenix plays the central character, a private investigator who enjoys his pot. This is a stoner film, everyone. He comes into contact with all sorts of characters, literally and figuratively. He’s roped into an investigation involving his ex-girlfriend’s current boyfriend. And down the wormhole we go.

The narration offers just enough information to warrant its presence, but it’s there more for style than for substance; it doesn’t clarify everything – it clarifies only a little, actually. But it does retain the spirit of the film’s novelistic origins, and Joanna Newsom’s voice fits the film perfectly.

The cast, as a whole, seems to be in on it. They know what they’re talking about – I guess that counts for something. It’s like watching people who speak a language that sounds familiar yet doesn’t always make sense. There’s a delay between hearing what they say and knowing what it means. (If you decide to watch this, you might want to read the synopsis beforehand.)

The music is well-chosen and well-placed. It adds the right kind of energy to the film. And the cinematography matches the period without being murky. It looks both retro and current at the same time.

So, “Inherent Vice” has been made with care. But will you care? Is this worth 2 1/2 hours of your time?

Verdict: OKish

About: (Source: youtube.com/inherentvicetrailer)

“Inherent Vice,” is the seventh feature from Paul Thomas Anderson and the first ever film adaption of a Thomas Pynchon novel.

When private eye Doc Sportello’s ex-old lady suddenly out of nowhere shows up with a story about her current billionaire land developer boyfriend whom she just happens to be in love with, and a plot by his wife and her boyfriend to kidnap that billionaire and throw him in a loony bin…well, easy for her to say.

It’s the tail end of the psychedelic `60s and paranoia is running the day and Doc knows that “love” is another of those words going around at the moment, like “trip” or “groovy,” that’s being way too overused—except this one usually leads to trouble.

With a cast of characters that includes surfers, hustlers, dopers and rockers, a murderous loan shark, LAPD Detectives, a tenor sax player working undercover, and a mysterious entity known as the Golden Fang, which may only be a tax dodge set up by some dentists… Part surf noir, part psychedelic romp—all Thomas Pynchon.