Inherent Vice (2015) (English Language)

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148min

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Katherine Waterston…and more

Writers: Paul Thomas Anderson, Thomas Pynchon…and more

Joaquin Phoenix stars as a drug-addicted detective on the sleazy streets of 1970′s L.A. investigating the disappearance of his former girlfriend and her millionaire boyfriend, a genre-splitting dark comedy mystery from visionary writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood).

Paul Thomas Anderson is one of those filmmakers justifiably dubbed as “visionary” which generally means he makes very few films which are memorably rich in vision and story, in choosing to adapt Thomas Pynchon’s novel for Inherent Vice he has given us one of the best examples of why some stories are best left on the page.

This film is potentially one of the most frustrating movie experiences in recent memory largely because of the combination of a convoluted storyline and bizarre characters within a semi-surreal world, and a cast of strong darkly-comedic performances that give the viewer the constant hope of connecting to the characters for a satisfying conclusion, a hope which is misplaced.

The one mechanism here to guide you through the “weed-cloud” covered plot also happens to be some of the most irritating pseudo-poetic narration imaginable, if this film can be classified as “neo-noir” as some have then best to look at something like Chinatown for how it should be done.

Even if you have read the Thomas Pynchon novel on which the movie is based, or you have the foresight to let go of expectations of a decipherable plot, there really isn’t much to hold on to aside from some hilarious moments that result from the atmosphere of moral decadence and anti-hippie (code for communist) paranoia that the movie drips with, Inherent Vice’s style and constant sense of anarchy in simply not enough to keep you engaged for 2 and a half hours.

We had high expectations for this film and really wanted to like it but there is very little that hints at a Paul Thomas Anderson production and we sort of wish it wasn’t one, we can’t help but feel that this is a clear case of the cost paid for being so faithful in the adaptation of source material.

If you do see Inherent Vice and you’re a Paul Thomas Anderson fan, we say be prepared for a surreal comedic experience that is ultimately frustrating and disappointing.

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Chinatown (1974)

Set in L.A. in the late 1930s and inspired by the California “water wars”, Jack Nicholson stars as a private investigator hired to follow the adulterous husband of a beautiful socialite, only to get caught up in a dangerous web of corruption that spans all levels of the city in this classic award-winning “neo-noir” mystery.

Directed by Roman Polanski and starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston among others.