Inherent ViceL.A. is a crazy town. Inherent Vice follows in the tradition of pulp crime stories set amid the glitz and grime of the Californian megalopolis, that dank and painted jewel thrust between the ocean and the desert, a schizophrenic microcosm where people sway to a rhythm of extremes. The story goes--and I'll try to be sparse here to leave a little mystery--that private investigator/hippie doctor, Larry "Doc" Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) is recruited (read: seduced) by his ex-girlfriend, Shasta Fay Hepworth (Katherine Waterston) to look out for her new beau, rich land developer, Michael Z. "Mickey" Wolfmann (Eric Roberts), as his wife and her lover are plotting something against him. And so the plot thickens as aspic...
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On the surface, Inherent Vice has all the trappings of a tale of Philip Marlowe, the thrilling hard-edged detective hero crafted by Raymond Chandler. The film is adapted from the crime novel of the same name by Thomas Pynchon, only...our hero is a different breed of "detective". Comparing Marlowe (or other similar figures) to Doc brings to mind those old Apple commercials dismissively comparing a "Mac" to a "PC", a battle of "straights" versus "hippies". Fortunately, Inherent Vice is far better than those condescending ads, but a similar battle is represented in Doc as he both clashes and occasionally supports the tough guy, seemingly stuffed shirt cop, Detective Christian F. "Bigfoot" Bjornsen (Josh Brolin). While Doc and Bigfoot use passive-aggressive (and sometimes aggressive-aggressive, in the case of Bigfoot) means to harass one another, they earn a begrudging admiration for one another as they share information to solve their mutual cases. Maybe it's all the drugs--Doc doesn't shy away from them, except for heroin, which is treated as exceptionally evil--but maybe Doc should have taken a moment to ask one or two more questions from Shasta and her fluttering eyes prior to accepting her charge, before getting wrapped up in a conspiracy that escalates for the majority of the film. But in true detective story fashion, our story begins with the "gorgeous dame who walked in (or back in) to my life". Hearkening back to classic films like The Big Sleep, Inherent Vice contains a labyrinthine maze of plot threads and potential red herrings, false leads, or just straight up lies, and Doc's role is to untangle the thread...at least as well as he can. And like The Big Sleep, the tale is filled with L.A. decadence and plots, sex, drugs, violence, and a hero who inch-by-inch gets drawn deeper into the web.
Set at the "precarious time" of 1970--a sentiment expressed by our narrator, and also another character named Sortilège (Joanna Newsom)--and just as the era of "free love" begins to rust and rot away in the wake of the dark side of the new age--with events like the Manson Family killings--L.A. begins to experience a fundamental paradigm shift, manufactured by a variety of sources, like wizards operating behind the scenes in harmony, creating a sort of...well, new world order. Like Chinatown--another film Inherent Vice feels kin to--our hero soon finds himself with the undesirable knowledge that not all is well in the state of California, and forces that have plans to run the world are plowing over everything and everyone in their path; Doc had better steer clear if he knows what's good for him. When Doc is informed by a ne'er-do-well scumbag that he is not respected because he "pays rent", this also underscores another fundamental principle of the modus operandi of those kingmakers and elite brokers of greed: keep the poor convinced that they have to escape life, get them consuming things (like drugs), then get them clean...just make sure you've got they paying you coming and going. As a result of the transformation of the city of angels, Doc represents something of an old soul, wistful, wishing for a better future but a part of the past. It's not easy for him to move on--he's still stuck on his ex, even though he's dating junior D.A., Penny Kimball (Reese Witherspoon). And while they have a tolerable relationship, it is a somewhat cool one, in comparison with his wild and crazy flashbacks to days running through the rain and hiding out in storefronts with Shasta. When Doc takes a case loosely tied to his already complicated one regarding Mickey Wolfmann for recovering heroin-addict turned semi-respectable mom and drug counselor, Hope Harlingen (Jena Malone) to find her husband and her daughter's father, Coy (Owen Wilson), he takes this case almost personally. Doc spends a great deal of time (and expense) to ensure Coy can return to his family from his clandestine dealings among persons of interest in Topanga Canyon, because Doc believes a daughter and her father shouldn't be separated like this. Doc may be given to vice, given to rot away in his weed-fueled apartment on "Gordita Beach", but he has a heart and keeps his soul. In the end, we can surmise the true cost that comes to those who fail to hold those dear.
Recommended for: Fans of a sophisticated crime thriller and a period piece with the occasional "groovy" sprinkled in--a mystery of the perils of capitalistic greed overpowering an overall sense of community, and the harsh awakening that comes with watching our expectations of love and trust go up in smoke.
Set at the "precarious time" of 1970--a sentiment expressed by our narrator, and also another character named Sortilège (Joanna Newsom)--and just as the era of "free love" begins to rust and rot away in the wake of the dark side of the new age--with events like the Manson Family killings--L.A. begins to experience a fundamental paradigm shift, manufactured by a variety of sources, like wizards operating behind the scenes in harmony, creating a sort of...well, new world order. Like Chinatown--another film Inherent Vice feels kin to--our hero soon finds himself with the undesirable knowledge that not all is well in the state of California, and forces that have plans to run the world are plowing over everything and everyone in their path; Doc had better steer clear if he knows what's good for him. When Doc is informed by a ne'er-do-well scumbag that he is not respected because he "pays rent", this also underscores another fundamental principle of the modus operandi of those kingmakers and elite brokers of greed: keep the poor convinced that they have to escape life, get them consuming things (like drugs), then get them clean...just make sure you've got they paying you coming and going. As a result of the transformation of the city of angels, Doc represents something of an old soul, wistful, wishing for a better future but a part of the past. It's not easy for him to move on--he's still stuck on his ex, even though he's dating junior D.A., Penny Kimball (Reese Witherspoon). And while they have a tolerable relationship, it is a somewhat cool one, in comparison with his wild and crazy flashbacks to days running through the rain and hiding out in storefronts with Shasta. When Doc takes a case loosely tied to his already complicated one regarding Mickey Wolfmann for recovering heroin-addict turned semi-respectable mom and drug counselor, Hope Harlingen (Jena Malone) to find her husband and her daughter's father, Coy (Owen Wilson), he takes this case almost personally. Doc spends a great deal of time (and expense) to ensure Coy can return to his family from his clandestine dealings among persons of interest in Topanga Canyon, because Doc believes a daughter and her father shouldn't be separated like this. Doc may be given to vice, given to rot away in his weed-fueled apartment on "Gordita Beach", but he has a heart and keeps his soul. In the end, we can surmise the true cost that comes to those who fail to hold those dear.
Recommended for: Fans of a sophisticated crime thriller and a period piece with the occasional "groovy" sprinkled in--a mystery of the perils of capitalistic greed overpowering an overall sense of community, and the harsh awakening that comes with watching our expectations of love and trust go up in smoke.