Inherent Vice
04/02/15 Filed in: Cinema
Today we saw Inherent Vice. If you are somebody who likes a film to have a clear plot, simply defined characters who are either 'good' or 'bad' and an ending that is clear cut, then this isn't the film for you.
To put this into context, take two newspaper reviews.
First from The Guardian: Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s novel is this season’s most baffling experience. What does it take to get people to leave before the credits roll?
Now from The Daily Telegraph: Stupendous - 5 stars: Paul Thomas Anderson's surreally funny Thomas Pynchon adaptation is like no noir you've ever seen.
Although the review does then say that after about half an hour you realise that you are going to have to see the film again.
Joaquin Phoenix plays Larry 'Doc' Sportell, a hippy-styled private investigator (it takes place in the early 70s) who is more often or not smoking something that makes the already surreal film all the more so. Shasta Fay Hepworth is his ex who is involved in some shady goings on with billionaire Michael Z. Wolfmann, who himself is involved with a 'free' property development and a group of Nazi bikers, and who disappears along, it seems, with Shasta.
To put this into context, take two newspaper reviews.
First from The Guardian: Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s novel is this season’s most baffling experience. What does it take to get people to leave before the credits roll?
Now from The Daily Telegraph: Stupendous - 5 stars: Paul Thomas Anderson's surreally funny Thomas Pynchon adaptation is like no noir you've ever seen.
Although the review does then say that after about half an hour you realise that you are going to have to see the film again.
Joaquin Phoenix plays Larry 'Doc' Sportell, a hippy-styled private investigator (it takes place in the early 70s) who is more often or not smoking something that makes the already surreal film all the more so. Shasta Fay Hepworth is his ex who is involved in some shady goings on with billionaire Michael Z. Wolfmann, who himself is involved with a 'free' property development and a group of Nazi bikers, and who disappears along, it seems, with Shasta.
Doc obviously still has feelings for Shasta and the plot thus develops, bringing in a police officer known as Bigfoot, who seems as paranoid as everybody else; FBI agents who may be investigating Wolfmann's disappearance or may have in fact instigated it; Coy Harlingen, a musician who seems to have got caught up in the growing complexity of the plot; the Golden Fang, a drug operation that introduces into the plot even more strange characters; and so it goes on.
Are you with me so far? Thought not!
To be honest the film is almost unreviewable. You will need to watch it, listen carefully and perhaps then see it again. Even then you will probably be talking about the meaning of this or that as you walk home from the cinema. There are some fine performances from fine actors and it is billed as a comedy noir, which I suppose it is. You probably won't be laughing out loud but there are likely to be lots of chuckles.
Are you with me so far? Thought not!
To be honest the film is almost unreviewable. You will need to watch it, listen carefully and perhaps then see it again. Even then you will probably be talking about the meaning of this or that as you walk home from the cinema. There are some fine performances from fine actors and it is billed as a comedy noir, which I suppose it is. You probably won't be laughing out loud but there are likely to be lots of chuckles.