Inherent Vice

The Gist: A private investigator who regularly operates under the influence of a lot of drugs is pulled into the investigation on the disappearance of a former girlfriend who was linked to a married, rich developer, who also disappeared.

I was looking forward to this movie for two reasons. First, it stars Joaquin Phoenix, whom I admire highly as an actor. Second, it’s directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, a director whose work I’ve admired since he first burst onto the scene with the very original Boogie Nights. He followed that with Magnolia, which wasn’t universally well received, but I liked it very much. Then came Punch-Drunk Love, which was so good it made me appreciate Adam Sandler, and There Will Be Blood, which is artistically impeccable and a good story overall.

I haven’t seen The Master yet, his follow up, but his latest, Inherent Vice, shook my admiration for Anderson to the very core.

Flanking Phoenix is a sprawling cast of marquee names (actors like Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro, Owen Wilson, Reese Whiterspoon, Martin Short, Martin Donovan, Eric Roberts, Maya Rudolph, and Jena Malone) and a well written screenplay (hell, it was nominated for an Oscar!!) and yet I found it to be the best cure for insomnia…

Perhaps the material it’s based on is complicated to adapt into a movie and/or would not impress me either, or I just didn’t understand the subtleties of the period. All I know is that I constantly found myself rewinding because I had dozed off, even though I wasn’t tired and was looking forward to watching a movie. That rarely, if ever, happens to me, so it’s never a good sign.

The Bottom Line: I found this movie boring, needlessly complicated, and tough to get through. In spite of my admiration for the director and several of the actors involved, I would definitely not recommend it to anyone. Unless you have trouble sleeping…

Grade: 2