Total Film Magazine IV review

[Allan Balliett]

IV review from 03/15 Total Film mag. Please forgive the scan flac.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s seventh film feels like light relief after his
sixth, the heavyweight melodrama The Master. But then rather like
Punch-Drunk Love, when PTA does comedy, don’t expect hearts and flowers.
this is the first time revered and reclusive american author thomas Pynchon
has been adapted for the big screen; you could say he’s found his perfect
match in the man behind Magnolia and There Will Be Blood.

 Here, there will be pot – and lots of it. set in the fictional californian
neighbourhood of Gordita Beach in 1970 (the year PTA was born,
incidentally), Inherent Vice is the tale of the shambolic private
investigator larry ‘Doc’ sportello (Joaquin Phoenix), an inveterate
dopesmoker – or “hippie scum”, if you prefer the analysis meted out by his
laPD nemesis,  Det. christian ‘Bigfoot’ Bjornsen (Josh Brolin, on
magnificent form).

As we hear in voiceover, from indie singer Joanna newsom, “these were
perilous times, astrologically speaking, for dopers”, though that doesn’t
stop Doc rolling up a fattie and getting himself all messed up in a plot so
complicated, it makes The Big Sleep look like Jackanory. Don’t worry if you
lose track – there’s a good chance the pot-hazed Doc has too, after his
ex-girlfriend Shasta (Katherine Waterston) pays him a visit.

Her current squeeze, real-estate tycoon Mickey Wolfman (eric Roberts), is
in danger, with his wife and her toy-boy looking to put him in the funny
farm in order to grab his wealth. With us so far? Good. Doc takes on the
case, bringing him into contact with everyone from prostitutes to
powder-sniffing dentists (Martin short, in an all-too short appearance) to
a secret society called the Golden Fang. themes of paranoia and insecurity
– all classic Pynchon tropes – loudly echo around the walls.

Set in an ultra-seedy la, with the shadow of the Manson murders looming
large, the attention to detail is quite superb. From Phoenix’s ever-dirty
feet (you sense he probably didn’t wash much through the shoot) through to
Jonny Greenwood’s persuasive score, you’ll feel like you’ve seen and smelt
the ’70s by the end of the ride. sure, it meanders at times – but when the
encounters include tête-à-têtes with Benicio Del toro, Reese Witherspoon
and owen Wilson, it seems churlish to complain. those expecting belly
laughs will be disappointed, but as a poignant love-letter to a city and an
era, Inherent Vice is pure dope. James mottram THE VERDICT if not quite on
a par with pTa’s best, this is still a richly intoxicating brew of humour,
violence and melancholy. › director Paul Thomas Anderson Starring Joaquin
Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Katherine Waterston, Reese Witherspoon, Benicio Del
Toro Screenplay Paul Thomas Anderson distributor Warner Brothers running
time 148 mins Certificate 15
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