Adapted by Paul Thomas Anderson from a Thomas Pynchon novel, Inherent Vice is a funny and confused amble through pot-besotted 1970 Los Angeles. Joaquin Phoenix plays a bottom-feeding private eye who is contacted by an old girlfriend and, of course, finds himself knocked out and implicated in a murder. Thus begins a plot so convoluted that it makes The Big Sleep look as linear as a Bud Light commercial.
We meet a wide array of characters with names like Dr. Buddy Tubes, Japonica Fenway and Puck Beaverton. We hear sly wit along with seeing low brow sight gags (nose-picking. etc.). There are funny lines, as when Phoenix’s pothead detective is described as “You smell like a patchouli fart”. Perhaps the funniest moment is when our addled hero writes himself a note in block letters: “NOT HALLUCINATING”.
Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, Benicio Del Toro, Eric Roberts, Jeannie Berlin, Jena Malone, Maya Rudolph and Martin Short all pop up in Inherent Vice, and Joaquin Phoenix is as good as one would expect. The most memorable performances, though are by Josh Brolin and Katharine Waterston. Brolin is hilarious as a flat-topped hardass cop. Waterston plays the former girlfriend, Inherent Vice’s female lead, and she pretty much captivates every scene that she’s in. Musician Joanna Newsom, who also plays a minor character, narrates very effectively.
Paul Thomas Anderson (Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Punch-Drunk Love, The Master) is a brilliant filmmaker, and Inherent Vice gets the time and place just right, with an especially evocative color palette.
It’s mildly entertaining all the way through, but never compelling. And all the way through is two hours and twenty-eight minutes – not really a slog, but you’re never on the edge of your seat. And you’re certainly not going to think about it tomorrow.
I finally got around to watching Inherent Vice on DirecTV PPV. It’s also streaming on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play, Xbox Video and Flixster.