For those of us who came of age in the 1990s and 2000s, Paul Thomas Anderson’s work, along with that of the Coen brothers and Quentin Tarantino, indicates a style that signaled a shift from the era of Scorsese and Spielberg, bringing an independent sensibility to mainstream films. I have seen all seven of his films, and as with most directors, there are ones I love (Magnolia, There Will Be Blood), one I hate (The Master), and one I barely remember seeing (Hard Eight). Time will tell how I ultimately will feel about his newest work, Inherent Vice, but my guess is it will land somewhere in the middle.
The film’s title is based on a legal term that describes items that are not likely to be insured because of their naturally fragile characteristics: eggs break, chocolate melts, as the film describes. There is an inherent risk in dealing with such materials. For the film, this term is intended to qualify the people and situations we encounter that are unstable, dangerous, and may never live up to their intended worth. The film is based on a book of the same name by postmodernist author Thomas Pynchon, who is famous for intentionally elaborate storylines, littered with pop references and jarring shifts between fantasy and realism.
While Anderson aims to stick pretty close to the novel, he infuses his personal narrative style that has a way of making us not overly concerned with plot. It’s all about people with Anderson, and that’s just fine with me. His characters sort of meander through their lives, rarely concerned with urgency, even when there is a goal. This is a risky move that not many directors and writers can pull off, but Anderson achieves this in film after film because his characters are so unique and watchable. They are often quirky yet sincere, flawed but trying. And we want to see what happens next to them simply in order to see what happens to them after that.
Joaquin Phoenix stars as Doc Sportello, a beach-living private investigator-hippie who is asked by an ex-lover to look into the potential abduction of her new and wealthy boyfriend. Doc is “the Dude” from The Big Lebowski with more stable employment. He is high most of the time but somehow manages to outsmart most everyone around him. Phoenix effectively carries the film, despite the many other recognizable faces that deserve much more screen time than they are given. Inherent Vice has a plot that is so convoluted, I won’t even attempt to summarize here. Amid the myriad characters that appear and disappear over the film’s two hours and fifteen minutes, a length which is noticeable at times, there is a detective story here...somewhere. There are mysterious kidnappers and crooked cops, a saxophone player and Richard Nixon, an insane asylum and an ominous boat, the Bermuda Triangle and a guy named Bigfoot. Got that? And lots of drugs. To say there are a few joints rolled in this film is like saying Goodfellas has a few Italian guys in it. The drugs fit, I guess, as the film does take place on the beach in 1970 (dig it?), and Doc’s confused haze reflects our own as we try as desperately as he does in attempting to figure out what exactly is happening.
One thing Anderson does as well as anyone in the business is make inspired casting decisions. Tom Cruise as the misogynistic lost son. Emily Watson as the sensible and lovely yang to Adam Sandler’s vulnerable and neurotic yin. Don Cheadle as the stereo-obsessed Buck Swope. He does the same here by selecting Martin Short as a doped-up dentist, Benicio del Toro as Doc’s shady lawyer, and Josh Brolin as the meathead “renaissance detective.” Owen Wilson and Reese Witherspoon are also good. I always enjoy Anderson’s period pop soundtracks, as well. Like Tarantino, he has a knack for selecting less familiar songs that perfectly fit whatever scene he constructs. With Neil Young, The Association, Sam Cooke, and more, the music lends breezy warmth to the California scenery and is definitely worth a listen.
Inherent Vice is very R-rated for lots of sexuality, language, and drug use (of course), so take caution. Anderson has made a fine living exploring the underbelly of Los Angeles, and he does that once again here, but there are a number of flaws with this film, and I presume most general audiences won’t put up with them. For Anderson fans, though, they will likely echo Doc’s hippie drawl and reply, “What does it really matter, man?” Inherent Vice doesn’t have the powerful personality of There Will Be Blood, the weird romanticism of Punch Drunk Love, or the audacious scope of Boogie Nights. It just sort of...is. Anderson didn’t exactly win me over with this latest effort, and I’m still not sure what it’s about exactly, but I didn’t mind the ride.
Grade: C+
[Be sure to check out previous movie reviews in the Movie Reviews tab at the top of the page. Enjoy!]
The film’s title is based on a legal term that describes items that are not likely to be insured because of their naturally fragile characteristics: eggs break, chocolate melts, as the film describes. There is an inherent risk in dealing with such materials. For the film, this term is intended to qualify the people and situations we encounter that are unstable, dangerous, and may never live up to their intended worth. The film is based on a book of the same name by postmodernist author Thomas Pynchon, who is famous for intentionally elaborate storylines, littered with pop references and jarring shifts between fantasy and realism.
While Anderson aims to stick pretty close to the novel, he infuses his personal narrative style that has a way of making us not overly concerned with plot. It’s all about people with Anderson, and that’s just fine with me. His characters sort of meander through their lives, rarely concerned with urgency, even when there is a goal. This is a risky move that not many directors and writers can pull off, but Anderson achieves this in film after film because his characters are so unique and watchable. They are often quirky yet sincere, flawed but trying. And we want to see what happens next to them simply in order to see what happens to them after that.
Joaquin Phoenix stars as Doc Sportello, a beach-living private investigator-hippie who is asked by an ex-lover to look into the potential abduction of her new and wealthy boyfriend. Doc is “the Dude” from The Big Lebowski with more stable employment. He is high most of the time but somehow manages to outsmart most everyone around him. Phoenix effectively carries the film, despite the many other recognizable faces that deserve much more screen time than they are given. Inherent Vice has a plot that is so convoluted, I won’t even attempt to summarize here. Amid the myriad characters that appear and disappear over the film’s two hours and fifteen minutes, a length which is noticeable at times, there is a detective story here...somewhere. There are mysterious kidnappers and crooked cops, a saxophone player and Richard Nixon, an insane asylum and an ominous boat, the Bermuda Triangle and a guy named Bigfoot. Got that? And lots of drugs. To say there are a few joints rolled in this film is like saying Goodfellas has a few Italian guys in it. The drugs fit, I guess, as the film does take place on the beach in 1970 (dig it?), and Doc’s confused haze reflects our own as we try as desperately as he does in attempting to figure out what exactly is happening.
One thing Anderson does as well as anyone in the business is make inspired casting decisions. Tom Cruise as the misogynistic lost son. Emily Watson as the sensible and lovely yang to Adam Sandler’s vulnerable and neurotic yin. Don Cheadle as the stereo-obsessed Buck Swope. He does the same here by selecting Martin Short as a doped-up dentist, Benicio del Toro as Doc’s shady lawyer, and Josh Brolin as the meathead “renaissance detective.” Owen Wilson and Reese Witherspoon are also good. I always enjoy Anderson’s period pop soundtracks, as well. Like Tarantino, he has a knack for selecting less familiar songs that perfectly fit whatever scene he constructs. With Neil Young, The Association, Sam Cooke, and more, the music lends breezy warmth to the California scenery and is definitely worth a listen.
Inherent Vice is very R-rated for lots of sexuality, language, and drug use (of course), so take caution. Anderson has made a fine living exploring the underbelly of Los Angeles, and he does that once again here, but there are a number of flaws with this film, and I presume most general audiences won’t put up with them. For Anderson fans, though, they will likely echo Doc’s hippie drawl and reply, “What does it really matter, man?” Inherent Vice doesn’t have the powerful personality of There Will Be Blood, the weird romanticism of Punch Drunk Love, or the audacious scope of Boogie Nights. It just sort of...is. Anderson didn’t exactly win me over with this latest effort, and I’m still not sure what it’s about exactly, but I didn’t mind the ride.
Grade: C+
[Be sure to check out previous movie reviews in the Movie Reviews tab at the top of the page. Enjoy!]