Inherent Vice I thought Inherent Vice was a brilliant piece of work, in large part thanks to Jacquin Pheonix. Pheonix plays Larry "Doc" Sportello, a beach-bum detective bumbling through a mystery in a constant haze of marijuana smoke. Doc is constantly teetering on the edge of usefulness in the same way the character is constantly teetering on the edge of consciousness. Doc an unreliable protagonist and a pleasure to watch. The narrative of the movie is ultimately a very simple detective story, complete with a visit from an old flame, a drug syndicate, land deals in Los Angeles, and back-stabbing by the rich. It's to writer / director Paul Thomas Anderson's credit that he makes the audience feel lost in it, confused. We experience the world through Doc's pot-haze paranoia, where new information comes sluggishly and everyone might or might not be connected. The lackadaisical pacing and narrative isn't for everyone, but thanks to Doc, I felt like I was in good hands.
Evan's Top 11 of 2014
Evan's Top 11 of 2014
Evan's Top 11 of 2014
Inherent Vice I thought Inherent Vice was a brilliant piece of work, in large part thanks to Jacquin Pheonix. Pheonix plays Larry "Doc" Sportello, a beach-bum detective bumbling through a mystery in a constant haze of marijuana smoke. Doc is constantly teetering on the edge of usefulness in the same way the character is constantly teetering on the edge of consciousness. Doc an unreliable protagonist and a pleasure to watch. The narrative of the movie is ultimately a very simple detective story, complete with a visit from an old flame, a drug syndicate, land deals in Los Angeles, and back-stabbing by the rich. It's to writer / director Paul Thomas Anderson's credit that he makes the audience feel lost in it, confused. We experience the world through Doc's pot-haze paranoia, where new information comes sluggishly and everyone might or might not be connected. The lackadaisical pacing and narrative isn't for everyone, but thanks to Doc, I felt like I was in good hands.