{"id":1679,"date":"2015-07-07T23:58:46","date_gmt":"2015-07-08T03:58:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=1679"},"modified":"2025-01-26T17:47:59","modified_gmt":"2025-01-26T22:47:59","slug":"1679","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=1679","title":{"rendered":"Inherent Vice-2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

Inherent Vice-2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director Paul Thomas Anderson<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scott’s Review #255<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"80013545\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed July 7, 2015<\/p>\n

Grade: A-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Inherent Vice (2014) is a bizarre detective film noir-type experience, set in 1970 Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Directed by the superb Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights-1997 and Magnolia-1999), the film has weirdness and incoherence that is a marvel to experience.<\/p>\n

Fans of a straightforward plot will not be thrilled with this film, but for fans of Anderson, this will not disappoint. It has a complex plot, but the payoff is grand and a thinking man\u2019s film.<\/p>\n

The protagonist is Larry \u201cDoc\u201d Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix), a stoner private detective, contacted by his mysterious ex-girlfriend Shasta. She is worried about attempts by her boyfriend\u2019s ex-wife and new lover to kidnap him and have him committed.<\/p>\n

Mickey, Shasta\u2019s boyfriend, is a wealthy real-estate developer.<\/p>\n

Doc is also hired by two other people- one a former heroin addict looking for her missing husband, and the other a former convict looking for a prison mate who owes him money and is a former henchman of Mickey\u2019s.<\/p>\n

All of the stories intersect and such oddities as a peculiar massage parlor and a ship named the Golden Fang come into play throughout.<\/p>\n

The intersecting stories lead to the revelation of a drug ring. I had little idea what was happening but was still enthralled by it.<\/p>\n

There is an unpredictability surrounding Inherent Vice that is so pleasing and captivating. Joaquin Phoenix is compelling as Doc, a damaged character whose past is unclear.<\/p>\n

When Doc is, by all accounts, framed for the murder of a convict and interrogated by the police, we wonder what history he has with them and what led him to branch out on his own as a private investigator.<\/p>\n

Detective \u201cBigfoot\u201d Bjornsen, wonderfully played by Josh Brolin, is a rival of Doc\u2019s, though it is unclear why. \u201cBigfoot\u201d is frequently seen with chocolate-covered phallic objects in his mouth and is married to a severe, overbearing woman.<\/p>\n

Most characters are peculiar and have strange nuances, yet are never fully fleshed out, instead of remaining curious and thought-provoking.<\/p>\n

Reese Witherspoon, Benicio Del Torro, and Owen Wilson appear in small yet pivotal roles.<\/p>\n

Quite reminiscent of Roman Polanski\u2019s Chinatown (1974) and Robert Altman\u2019s The Long Goodbye (1973), in both the California setting and the plodding, slow-paced, magnificent storytelling, Inherent Vice is a confusing gem, but by all means a gem worth seeing and reveling among the intrigue.<\/p>\n

Just don\u2019t try to make too much sense of it all.<\/p>\n

Oscar Nominations:\u00a0<\/strong>Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design<\/p>\n

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 1 win-<\/strong>Robert Altman Award (won)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Inherent Vice-2014 Director Paul Thomas Anderson Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin Scott’s Review #255 Reviewed July 7, 2015 Grade: A- Inherent Vice (2014) is a bizarre detective film noir-type experience, set in 1970 Los Angeles. Directed by the superb Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights-1997 and Magnolia-1999), the film has weirdness and incoherence that is a … Continue reading Inherent Vice-2014<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,1635,49,225,179,192,4009,271,4602,6195,2373,2491,5647,3480,2478,2720,1982,5658,2063],"tags":[78,1637,252,226,180,193,4013,272,4603,6200,2374,2497,5648,3482,2482,2722,1990,5662,2065],"class_list":["post-1679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2014-films","category-benicio-del-toro","category-comedies","category-crime-dramas","category-darkcomedies","category-dramas","category-eric-roberts","category-film-noir","category-hong-chau","category-jeannie-berlin","category-joaquin-phoenix","category-josh-brolin","category-katherine-waterston","category-martin-short","category-maya-rudolph","category-owen-wilson","category-paul-thomas-anderson","category-peter-mcrobbie","category-reese-witherspoon","tag-2014-movie-reviews","tag-benicio-del-toro","tag-comedies","tag-crime-dramas","tag-dark-comedies","tag-dramas-2","tag-eric-roberts","tag-film-noir","tag-hong-chau","tag-jeannie-berlin","tag-joaquin-phoenix","tag-josh-brolin","tag-katherine-waterston","tag-martin-short","tag-maya-rudolph","tag-owen-wilson","tag-paul-thomas-anderson","tag-peter-mcrobbie","tag-reese-witherspoon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1679"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20236,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1679\/revisions\/20236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}