INHERENT VICE

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Katherine Waterston
Writer: Paul Thomas Anderson
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

It's 1970 and pot-smoking private detective Larry "Doc" Sportello (Phoenix) is called upon by his ex-girlfriend Shasta (Waterston) to investigate a plot to kidnap her current beau, who happens to be a billionaire real estate developer. Of course, the investigation turns out to be far from straightforward, taking in Nazi bikers, cults, drug trafficking and dentistry. All the while, boorish LAPD Lieutenant "Bigfoot" Bjornsen (Brolin) is on Doc's case. You see, Bigfoot's got a severe dislike of "hippie scum"...

So here it is, Paul Thomas Anderson's screen version of Thomas Pynchon's novel, trailing some stellar reviews in its wake but also tales of audience members giving up on the movie and leaving. I have to report that during the screening I attended no fewer than twenty people walked out, the last two of them departing after two hours of the film had elapsed. Not sure why that last couple didn't see out the last half hour considering they'd already made it through the bulk of the running time but there you go. With its languid pace and very little that resembles a plot, you could say it's something of a patience tester.

The thing is, it all starts off very nicely as the viewer is introduced to a series of fascinating, wacky characters and spins them into a plot that you feel could go absolutely anywhere. And, to its credit, the plot does go anywhere and everywhere, but the problem for me is that few things really gel in any kind of satisfactory way so I felt I was watching a series of very loosely connected vignettes, some of which are amazingly good, some of which are interminable (yes, that means you, gratuitous nude scene near the end).

Recently I complained about the resolution of A Most Violent Year for being just a bit too neat and how I wanted a messier ending. Well, I got it here in spades because this film is the definition of messy. Stuff just happens, plot threads are introduced and never resolved, characters drift in and out, sometimes having a profound effect on the story, sometimes having little or no effect at all. On one hand, I should be praising this approach because, after all, that's how life tends to be. On the other hand, Inherent Vice is so chaotic that, unfortunately, it's difficult to warm to it.

I have absolutely no complaints about the performances. Joaquin Phoenix is memorable as the P.I. who's described as one point as smelling of "patchouli fart". He's not your stereotypical stoner, which is refreshing to see, and Phoenix plays him as a chilled out sort, sympathetic to others but no one's fool either. Brolin's cop is an amusingly horrible and ultimately tragic figure and Waterston convinces as Doc's mysterious ex. There's also fine work from Reese Witherspoon as an assistant D.A. (and, somehow, Doc's current girlfriend) and Benicio Del Toro as the guy who helps Doc out of sticky legal situations although his speciality is really maritime law.

With such a magnificent cast, it was really enjoyable just watching them play off each other for a while. However, at about the halfway point I was struck with the thought that almost nothing was actually going on and there was still seventy-five minutes to go. Still, I was ready for the plot strands to start coming together and for the pace to pick up. What can I say, I was in an optimistic mood that evening. Of course, my luck wasn't in and the film shambled on for another hour and a quarter.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Paul Thomas Anderson. I loved his previous film, The Master, which you really should see if you haven't already done so. Punch Drunk Love is a movie I can always cite when people moan that Adam Sandler's never appeared in anything decent. Unfortunately, unlike Mark Wahlberg's Dirk Diggler character in PTA's Boogie Nights, the length's the problem here (I apologise humbly for making that joke, I couldn't resist it). Inherent Vice will take up two and a half hours of your time and you may feel like it's twice that. It's self-indulgent and although it has a beginning, a middle and an end they may not be the kind of beginning, middle and end that you're used to. Yes, there are some truly excellent moments but for me there just weren't enough of them. In the end, I left the cinema appreciating the undoubted quality of the film-making but having been left cold by the film itself.

One thing I can't say is that Inherent Vice goes for the lowest common denominator but for me, and apparently a lot of other people, it's a difficult movie to love. That notwithstanding, and very much like Doc's relationship with Shasta, maybe I will give it another try...