![]() ![]() Like my reaction to the film, I wasn’t disinterested, but nor was I interested… I just didn’t care and Phoenix’s performance as Sportello, as spot on as it may be (perhaps too much in fact) and, at times, quite humorous, I just didn’t care about him one bit. I tried reading Pynchon’s novel earlier this year and made it a quarter of the way through before giving up. My ho-hum reaction to Inherent Vice didn’t necessarily come as a surprise. Anderson approaches it with such a straight face that only a few of these kooky characters even register while the rest seem a perfect fit for the madcap world of Thomas Pynchon, whose novel of the same name served as the film’s narrative. ![]() During his investigation, Doc becomes privy to a variety of reveals including, but not limited to, Nazis, free love bars, real estate tycoons and tax-evading dentists to the point this is a movie that’s far weirder on paper than it is on film. The ’70s-set story begins as Sportello is approached by his ex-girlfriend ( Katherine Waterston), whom he still carries a flame for, with a story of her kidnapped billionaire boyfriend and his scheming wife. I don’t know if I don’t care because I didn’t get it, or if I didn’t get it because I didn’t care, but this is where I’m at with Paul Thomas Anderson‘s Inherent Vice, a meandering non-starter with plenty of funny scenes that play more as episodes within the larger, uninteresting tale of dope-smoking private investigator Larry “Doc” Sportello ( Joaquin Phoenix). ![]()
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