[projekktor id=’16948′]
Inherent Vice is the newest from director Paul Thomas Anderson. It’s the first Thomas Pynchon novel to get the big screen treatment, and features a script adapted by the director. I’ve never read the book, so if you’re a fan of the novel and are wondering if this is a good adaptation, I can’t asses that. What I do know is that even though the dialogue is challenging at times and it runs a little long (148 min) the acting is superb, and the story is funny, quirky and imaginative. It was a fun film to watch, and a refreshing change of pace for the director whose most recent works have been more dramatic (2012’s The Master and 2007’s There Will Be Blood).
The slightly confusing plot follows Private Investigator Larry “Doc” Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) as he navigates the case of millionaire real estate developer Mickey Wolfman (Eric Roberts). The case is first brought to Doc’s attention by his ex-old lady Shasta (Katherine Waterston) who is now sleeping with Mickey. Shasta’s worried because she claims Mickey’s wife Sloane (Serena Scott Thomas), and Sloane’s lover are plotting to have Mickey committed to the looney bin. As a favour to Shasta, Doc agrees to look into it, and he does a light poke-around but doesn’t do too much digging. The next day, in his unconventional PI office (a doctor’s office that sees real patients as well as Doc’s clientele) he’s visited by a man who wants him to look into a body guard that works for Mickey. Heavy into drug induced paranoia – with a hint of the real thing – Doc thinks this is more than a coincidence but decides to check it out anyway. Led by his new client to a “massage” parlour in an otherwise empty lot owned by Mickey, Doc gets knocked out when asking too many questions of the girls and wakes up next to Mickey’s dead bodyguard, surrounded by the police. It turns out that Mickey is actually missing now, so is Shasta, and Doc’s under suspicion for waking up next to the dead bodyguard of his ex-girlfriend’s current lover. It was clearly a set up…only question is, why Doc?
The key players aside from Phoenix and Waterston are Josh Brolin as Lt. Det. Christian “Bigfoot” Bjornsen, a clean cut, straight laced cop who moonlights as an actor and has a major hate-on for Doc although the pair do reluctantly work together; Benicio del Toro as Sauncho Smilax, Doc’s lawyer and confidant; Owen Wilson as Coy Harlingen a police informant in deep cover; Reese Witherspoon as Penny, the Deputy D.A and Doc’s occasional squeeze. The story is held together by the narration of Doc’s friend and neighbour on the beach, Sortilège played by newcomer, Joanna Newsom aka Mrs. Andy Samberg. Inherent Vice boasts an incredible ensemble cast which also includes Jena Malone, Maya Rudolph, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Martin Short.
While the heavy 70s slang paired with Phoenix’s muttering makes the dialogue a little hard to follow, Phoenix and Brolin make this movie fun to watch. They are incredible and hilarious as the mismatched detectives. Phoenix’s drugged up hippie getting caught up in a plot that includes the FBI, a crime syndicate of doctors and lawyers and a mysterious boat is hilarious. Thankfully Sortilège’s narration keeps the story on track because Doc’s investigation often gets confused (intentionally) by his hard partying ways. Phoenix’s Doc Sportello is the kind of slacker leading man that will inspire generations of young men to idolize him vis-a-vis Jeff Bridges’ The Dude, but its Brolin who is the scene stealer. Bigfoot is the complete opposite of Doc. For starters, he’s a family man (although he’s equal parts cop and actor as well). He’s tightly wound, well spoken (which adds to the humour when he uses hippie slang so matter-of-factly) and quick to anger. There’s an almost childlike quality to Bigfoot, an earnest desire to discover the truth paired with frequent temper tantrums, but he’s also a cold calculating detective looking for that big collar. These characters don’t fall into the trap of the buddy comedy movie – although their scenes together are hilarious and it’s their unique perspectives brought together that eventually solves the mystery.
Lets go back to the mystery, because despite the fact that I enjoyed watching the film it really does fall apart. For two hours we are on the case with Doc trying to find out what happened to Shasta and Mickey, who killed the bodyguard, why Coy keeps coming up and what the bigger conspiracy behind the mystery really is. Then in the remaining 30min everything gets resolved, one-by-one every story finds an ending. Its a little too neat, and far too long. There are probably viewers that will love this, but it really shifts the entire tone of the film. The loosey-goosey narrative – one that is constantly itching to go down the wrong hallucination filled path – gets a very definitive ending. I’m okay with leaving questions unanswered, in fact I sort of assumed some would be. Maybe that’s why everything was tied up in a neat little bow, because it was the unusual ending.
Two great leads (both of whom are generating lots of awards consideration), a few laughs and a plot that’s a hot mess, Inherent Vice is a fun watch. It’s the kind of movie you’ll get something new from every time you watch it. In fact, I would watch it many times over, if only to figure out what Phoenix is saying.
Review by Vithiya Murugadas.
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