Incoherent, Yet Entertaining!
Funny noir spoof with an incoherent plot.
Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice (2014) is like the comedy styling of The Big Lebowski's slacker stoner meeting up with the hard-nosed detective work of The French Connection on a missing person search akin to The Third Man. It's mindbogglingly incoherent with awkward dreamy editing that makes the audience not understand who anyone is or what anyone is talking about ever. The sheer volume of whispering characters, random jump cuts, and blathering dialogue can be frustrating, but if you give Inherent Vice a chance, it will make you laugh.
Anderson's direction is a neat adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's novel Inherent Vice, but it will confuse most audiences. Viewers will find themselves asking what is happening, what was revealing, where are we, and what anyone is saying constantly. The fun of Inherent Vice comes from the silly performances and goofy story told in a briskly paced manner. Inherent Vice is not as neatly complex as Magnolia, nor as ambitious as There Will Be Blood, but Anderson finds an amiable tone for this strange film. I found myself greatly enjoying the entire movie despite not knowing what was happening for most of it.
Joaquin Phoenix' bumbling stoner detective is hilarious and endears himself to you immediately. Josh Brolin's tough cop is brutal and excessive in the most entertainingly funny ways. Katherine Waterston is gorgeous and dreamy with a serious side that is hypnotic in Inherent Vice.
Owen Wilson has a fun supporting snitch character. Benicio del Toro's lawyer informant friend to Phoenix is super delightful and charming. I wanted even more of Benicio! Reese Witherspoon is excellent as the strict and proper D.A. attorney and love interest to Phoenix. Her charisma is ever apparent despite Paul Thomas Anderson horribly under-utilizing Witherspoon. She is fun while she is on screen, though I wish Reese was in Inherent Vice a lot more that the few minutes she got.
Lastly, Jena Malone gives a great supporting actress performance. Martin Short is a gut buster of a cameo. Michael Kenneth Williams has a powerful cameo. Maya Rudolph gets one particularly biting line. Eric Roberts gives one of his best, if brief performances of his career. Lastly, I adored Hong Chau as the alluring and ridiculous Jade.
In all, Inherent Vice is just one more editing pass short of being a great film. I found it marvelously entertaining despite its coherency issues. I think it's worth a watch regardless, if only for Joaquin Phoenix and Josh Brolin alone.
Bestätigter Kauf: JaArtikelzustand: Gebraucht