Paul Thomas Anderson ("There Will Be Blood," "Boogie Nights," "The Master") has a knack for movies about men in the dying light of their era. "Inherent Vice" is about "Doc" Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix), a pothead P.I. in southern California at the start of the 1970s, stubbornly hippie as culture leaves him behind. "Vice" is very much rooted in the perpetually paranoid perspective of Sportello, who doesn't follow leads so much as he shambles from mystery to mystery with questionable coherence. Although filled with sight gags and great performances, "Vice" is the sort of movie that requires two hours of uninterrupted attention; maybe four to allow a second watch. But it's a rewarding experience from a modern master.
Inherent Vice
Inherent Vice
Inherent Vice
Paul Thomas Anderson ("There Will Be Blood," "Boogie Nights," "The Master") has a knack for movies about men in the dying light of their era. "Inherent Vice" is about "Doc" Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix), a pothead P.I. in southern California at the start of the 1970s, stubbornly hippie as culture leaves him behind. "Vice" is very much rooted in the perpetually paranoid perspective of Sportello, who doesn't follow leads so much as he shambles from mystery to mystery with questionable coherence. Although filled with sight gags and great performances, "Vice" is the sort of movie that requires two hours of uninterrupted attention; maybe four to allow a second watch. But it's a rewarding experience from a modern master.