Release Date: 9 January 2015 (Wide Release)
Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Katherine Waterston, Benicio Del Toro, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1791528/
My Rating: (7.5/10) ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Emanating enough smoke to give the entire audience a contact high, Inherent Vice is a confidently quirky exploration that fits glibly into the canon of Director Paul Thomas Anderson.
When I say Inherent Vice left more questions than it answered, let me be clear: I enjoyed asking the questions, and I don’t always need answers. Often humorous, and occasionally poetic, this film is well-acted across the board with Joaquin Phoenix continuing his journey towards becoming one of the most interesting actors working at his level. Special note goes to Josh Brolin who makes a good foil and who has at least one challenging comic bit that could have easily escaped him.
Sure, if you want all your rising action to land like rising action, and you draw a hard line at clarity of plot, then this movie probably isn't for you. The lead character is a proud hippie, and stylistically the movie follows suit—often times zoning out for a bit, when suddenly something will come along to snap everything into sharp and immediate focus. The Devil...well he's in the details and here, man, here we don’t care about the details.
If, however, you can get behind a sometimes meandering character study that doesn't always explain itself, centered around a lovelorn dude with (spoiler) a possibly imaginary woman who speaks his thoughts, then give time to Inherent Vice. If not for the goosebump-inducing unbroken 6 minute shot that lands squarely in the middle of the film, then do it for the way Paul Thomas Anderson always manages to revive the 70’s without ever feeling precious or pastiche.
No comments:
Post a Comment