Review of Inherent Vice (2014) by Claire L — 31 Jan 2015

Inherent Vice is a real change of mood for master filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson from previous two movies, the heavy, intense classic's There Will Be Blood and The Master, it's somewhere between his current movies with it's occasional haunting quality and contemplative feel and his more flashy, showy earlier flicks like the seminal Boogie Nights, which is the place and time this movie returns to in fact, drugged out 1970's California.

But this isnt the fizzy, thrilling, vulgar bang of Boogie, this is much slower and moodier, it's often very funny but also mournful and reflective of a brief, lost forever time in american history, where the positive vibes of the hippie sixties gave over to the cynical 70's via Vietnam, The Manson Family murders and ubersquare Richard Nixon ruining everyone's good time.

The film feel's like a sad eulogy for this time, but its also a wonderful, unique, occasionally hilarious, stoner detective movie, with a freewheeling kidnap/mystery plot centered around a missing L.

A. tycoon and the seemingly all-encompassing "The Golden Fang" which could be any number of things from a elusive boat to a Chinese drug cartel, no one knows really, and the movie has this warm, buzzy, zoinked out vibe to it that washes over you, carrying you along through it's rambling, mad weirdness, and various strange episodes on the way.

This is a great film, and a real cult, stoner classic in the waiting. Plus the great Martin Short of Three Amigos/Innerspace/genral 80's comedy fame, turns up in his first appearance in fuck knows how long, stealing his scenes as a pervy, coke head dentist in one of the films most memorable, fun escapades.