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Director Paul Thomas Anderson is known for his long and perplexing yet noteworthy films—from Boogie Nights and Punch-Drunk Love to There Will Be Blood and The Master. For his latest film, Inherent Vice, he keeps the tone light, resulting in a period caper that’s quirky and amusing—but still long and perplexing, too.
Anderson’s latest adventure stars Joaquin Phoenix as Larry “Doc” Sportello, a stoner private detective in 1970 California. After his ex, Shasta (Katherine Waterson), comes to him out of concern for her married boyfriend, real estate tycoon Mickey Wolfmann (Eric Roberts), Doc finds himself searching for two missing people—Mickey and Shasta—in not-exactly-friendly cooperation with hippie-hating Lieutenant Christian “Bigfoot” Bjornsen (Josh Brolin). And his investigation leads him through an endless sea of quirky characters to a shadowy organization known as The Golden Fang.
This wacky crime caper certainly puts audiences into the middle of the drug-fueled haze. The writing is often clever, and if you dig deep enough and think hard enough, you might discover that there’s a method to the madness and maybe even a moral to the story. But the adventure itself is a confusing jumble of strange characters, unlikely connections, and tangled subplots—a mystery on top of a mystery on top of a mystery. Even if you’re perfectly sober, you could very well have a hard time keeping all of its paranoid hippie craziness straight. And it just gets crazier and crazier (not to mention harder to follow) as Doc continues his investigation—like a far out mash-up of Elmore Leonard and Hunter S. Thompson.
Fortunately, though, while you probably won’t understand much more about the story at the end of the film than you did at the beginning, the eccentric cast still makes for plenty of wildly entertaining moments. Phoenix seems to be in his element in his role, tripping his way through the investigation and mumbling his way through his lines. But it’s Brolin who steals the show as Bigfoot, an outspoken tough guy who’s as suspicious and straight-laced as Doc is laid-back. Add in cameos by everyone from Owen Wilson as a musician in exile to Martin Short as a shady dentist, and you’ve got one big, crazy, head-scratching adventure that’s presented in perfect ‘70s retro jive-turkey style.
Inherent Vice definitely isn’t a brainless comic caper. It’s complex and layered, and it’s sure to leave you scratching your head, unable to put all of the pieces together. If you like your movies neat and tidy, you’ll find it absolutely maddening—but the quirky characters and noteworthy performances will help to ease the pain.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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