Thomas Pynchon is a recluse and complicated American novelist people claim to understand when they're want to feel intellectually superior to you. I tried reading him once and was defeated in ways I didn't know I could be defeated. No sane person would ever attempt to turn his novel into movies. Not even David Lynch, who probably isn't sane anyway. Paul Thomas Anderson, a masterful and inscrutable, yet slightly more straightforward director tried his luck at INHERENT VICE last year, Pynchon's more accessible and yet puzzling stoner mystery. Naturally, it split the critics like Moses split the Red Sea.
But is it good? I can't claim I've understood everything, but I've thoroughly enjoyed Paul Thomas Anderson's INHERENT VICE.
Hippie P.I Doc Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) is given a case by his ex-girlfriend Shasta Fay Hepworth (Katherine Waterston), the one that got away.She wants Doc to make sure that her new boyfriend, real estate mogul Mickey Wolfmann (Eric Roberts) won't be committed to an insane asylum by his wife Sloane (Serena Scott Thomas). But Shasta Fay soon disappears too and cases start mysteriously droping on Doc's doorstep. A man named Tariq Khalil (Michael K. Williams) want his help finding a man he once knew in prison, a recovering addict (Jena Malone) wants his help finding her boyfriend and it all seems to be interconnected, somehow.
INHERENT VICE is a peculiar, cerebral kind of mystery, but it's still a mystery. It's bound to displease the fans of the genre, because it's walking to the beat of its own drum. It's not always easy to remember it was written by Thomas Pynchon and that Pynchon doesn't give a damn about pleasing anybody. There's not a lot of violence and the storyline can be ridiculously complex at times, but you can't argue that it's not beautifully wrapped together and that the drug-fueled, warped and paranoid Californian universe created by the minds of Pynchon and PTA isn't compelling. INHERENT VICE is a disorienting and challenging movie, but it's also a rewarding one for viewers who like to connect the dots.
Have I ever told you, my Reese-Whiterspoon-has-a-fake-chin conspiracy theory?
That said, INHERENT VICE is also stylish as hell. Some would say it's the movie's main calling card, and while the mystery nerd living inside me would disagree, it's a really, really good looking movie whatever that dork might say. It's a 1970s era film that doesn't come off as gimmicky. It has the same visual discipline movies about the Victorian era do. The level of detail, going from the use of rotary phone to the unspoken (but oh-so-present) social stratification is downright amazing. It's Paul Thomas Anderson left his imprint on this project, really, giving his viewers a mold, a frame of reference by which than can appreciate Pynchon. To some extent, INHERENT VICE should be judged for its style as much as for its content. They seemlessly play into one another.
I thought INHERENT VICE was a very good movie. Maybe not as strong as THE MASTER or THERE WILL BE BLOOD, but it nonetheless is a welcome addition to the universe of Paul Thomas Anderson, and you have to appreciate the sheer set of brass balls it takes to be willing to adapt Thomas Pynchon into a major motion picture. Not that I think Hollywood directors should make a habit of it (Pynchon should be left alone), but I believe INHERENT VICE is bound to be increasingly more appreciated as time goes by and eventually become a cult classic in its own right. It's a long and involving film and it'll take more than one viewing in order to from a solid opinion on it, but INHERENT VICE is the inherently solid vision of two standout creative minds.
I thought INHERENT VICE was a very good movie. Maybe not as strong as THE MASTER or THERE WILL BE BLOOD, but it nonetheless is a welcome addition to the universe of Paul Thomas Anderson, and you have to appreciate the sheer set of brass balls it takes to be willing to adapt Thomas Pynchon into a major motion picture. Not that I think Hollywood directors should make a habit of it (Pynchon should be left alone), but I believe INHERENT VICE is bound to be increasingly more appreciated as time goes by and eventually become a cult classic in its own right. It's a long and involving film and it'll take more than one viewing in order to from a solid opinion on it, but INHERENT VICE is the inherently solid vision of two standout creative minds.
