At the center of the joints Doc Sportello lights up in Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice is The Big Sleep, Kiss Me Deadly, The Long Goodbye and countless other noir classics about a detective falling through a web of confusing lies, double talk, murder and backstabbing. Inherent Vice has the making of a cult film, at least based on the number of people who walked out during my screening. There are few hints along Doc's journey to help the audience stick around, so if you don't pay attention, you get more lost than Philip Marlowe at a book store.
Based on Thomas Pynchon's novel of the same name, it begins with Doc (Joaquin Phoenix) getting word from his ex-girlfriend Shasta (Katherine Waterston) that her current boyfriend, married real estate magnate Mickey Wolfmann (Eric Roberts) is probably going to be abducted by his wife and her lover. Then, Doc meets with a member of a Black Panther-style group (Michael K. Williams), who says his old buddy Charlock, has gone missing. Doc takes that case, since Charlock was a bodyguard for Wolfmann. Well, the first sign that this case isn't going to be easy comes up quick when Doc gets knocked out at a brothel and wakes up next to a dead Charlock. That puts Bigfoot (Josh Brolin) and the cops on his trail. After getting arrested, Doc learns that Wolfmann has indeed gone missing, along with Shasta.
From beyond this point, the plot gets even more messy. Doc runs into a bizarre variety of characters, including a former communist saxophone player (Owen Wilson), a deputy district attorney he's sleeping with (Reese Witherspoon), a doped-out dentist (Martin Short) and a loan shark who wants to kill him (Peter McRobbie). There is one name Doc keeps running to in this journey – the Golden Fang.
So if the plot doesn't make any sense at all – unless you have a notepad and are writing notes that are in more detail than “Something Spanish” – what is the point of seeing this film? It's the same reason that we go back to all those great film noirs: the characters. Doc fits in that long line of P.I.'s like a glove, even if his own personal investment in this case isn't quite as fleshed out as it should be. Joaquin Phoenix's comedic skills are surprisingly strong, considering that he's usually in “super serious art” films as of late. Even Spike Jonze's Her didn't require him to be as physically funny as he is here. He shows off the most articulate face in movies, particularly in that moment when he goes from a scream to a straight face during his chat with Jenna Malone.
Anderson recruited a “who's who” of movies today for the countless supporting roles in the film. Benicio Del Toro proves that he needs more to do more comedies thanks to his role as Doc's lawyer – whose specialty in maritime law proves oddly helpful. Josh Brolin is hilarious in every scene as the straight-cut straight man to Doc's hippie lifestyle. Even Reese Witherspoon eats up her brief scenes like candy she hasn't had in a long time.
Inherent Vice is Anderson's easily most collaborative film since Magnolia, which was the last time he handled a cast this big. While this is clearly his movie, one can see how these actors appreciated getting to just act. Have we ever seen Martin Short – yes, the Martin Short – have this much fun on the big screen? Has Phoenix ever looked more relaxed in a role? There's a clear sense that Anderson allowed these actors to define their roles, making sure that they are the only ones we could imagine in these roles.
There really isn't much of a point to Inherent Vice and it definitely would have been a stronger film if Doc had more heart and investment in the case at hand. Indeed, it feels like Doc cares more about Owen Wilson's character than his missing ex-girlfriend who he's constantly trying to prove to people he doesn't love any longer. Yet, Inherent Vice is still captivating as a loose jumble of events. It begs to be seen a second time – that is, if you enjoyed it during your first trip with Doc.
One of yesterday's surprises was Inherent Vice actually scoring two Oscar nominations. Anderson's screenplay was nominated and the film's '70s costume design was as well.
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